


What Becomes of Curious Minds

by ElvenSemi



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: (in the last chapter), Also actual sex, Angst, Daydreaming, Drabble Collection, F/M, Light Bondage, POV Second Person, Panic Attacks, Sex Dreams, this was done in 11 days as part of a challenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:49:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 89,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8928892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElvenSemi/pseuds/ElvenSemi
Summary: **This was done for the 10 Days and 10 Nights in MysMe Hell challenge; it was written over the course of 11 energy-drink fueled days. It has been edited but it is still a collection of individual drabbles to tell an overarching story.** Someone would have to be in a very bad place or almost criminally gullible to go to a stranger's address. You are the former. Nothing feels like it's going right in your life. You're in a rut, personally, professionally... in all ways. So when you get a suspicious message, you go for it... and find yourself caught up in a world that seems straight out of one of your over-wrought stories. But what you find there makes the whole ordeal worth it... more than worth it. You tried to escape the darkness, and in so doing, you found the sun.





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> SO. In case you didn't read the summary: this is a collection of drabbles I wrote for a challenge. ...A challenge I invented, but other people have done it so that makes it legit now. >.>; The gist of it is that for every single chatroom, I would write a drabble. What wound up happening is that I wrote almost 75k in 11 energy-drink and caffeine-pill fueled days. Which is... ...an experience. 
> 
> What you've got here is the only -slightly-edited outcome of that. It's a bit disjointed and it's got a lot of smut in. There'll be 10 chapters all told, for the 10 days. I can't emphasize this enough; I really can't guarantee a super high standard of quality given the state I was in writing this. But, I mean, there's a LOT of it, so that counts for something, yeah?

It came at such an odd time in your life. 

It'll make sense to you in retrospect. Why it all happened... and why to you. Someone would have to be in a very bad place or almost criminally gullible to go to a stranger's address. You were the former. It felt a bit like bad luck, then destiny, while you were going through it. Only hindsight grants you anything even resembling clarity. At that time... 

Nothing feels like it's going right in your life. You're in a rut, personally, professionally... in all ways. You've been single forever, and your last boyfriend was trash, as was the one before that. Work is... alright. Working from home is nice, on the surface, but for you, it's become an excuse to neglect yourself. You can go for days without leaving the house. Even though you can cook, you always wind up ordering take out or snacking on junk food... when you remember to eat at all. Your sleep times become an ever-shifting maze as a lack of fixed schedule has you shifting into a 28 hour day. Trying to fix it every time you find yourself waking up at six PM has you abusing caffeine to a near absurd degree. This isn't the way you want to live... it's just the way you've found yourself living. 

You simply wake up one morning with no will to live, and no real idea of when things had gotten so bad. 

The address is in a city about an hour's drive away. Close enough for you to do it in one shot without having time to think to yourself that it's a very convoluted way to commit suicide. 

And it's not that you want to die, not really. You just want something interesting to happen. Literally anything more interesting than the pit that your life has become. And this promises to be, if nothing else, an interesting story. You're more than willing to risk yourself just to feel something, anything, other than the dreary haze of a life you're barely living anymore. 

You'd been expecting a lot of weird things. You enter the apartment suspecting that you're being used as a patsy in a crime, and are beginning to contemplate simply robbing the place yourself and booking it. Surely someone is about to jump out, or the door is about to slam shut to reveal the world's stupidest serial killer, astounded that there's anyone stupider than him out there. But none of that happens. Instead... your phone starts going wild.

* * *

For a group that supposedly includes a hacker and a rich businessman, the only one that really seems openly suspicious of your TOTALLY BULLSHIT excuse as to why you suddenly appeared in their dead friend's apartment, is Jaehee Kang. AKA the secretary. What a sad state of affairs. Maybe she's in the group because she's the only one with common sense...? 

You're pretty sure she's like 60% convinced you're just an idiot too, though. For now, you're polite to her, hoping that playing cute and stupid will help the situation along. It's kind of hard to get a read on her, right now, and everyone else is super willing to stick you in the "cute and stupid" box. Why fight it? 

You let your eyes trace around the apartment you've been asked to stay in. It's all locked drawers, with metal lockers you're completely unwilling to touch in one corner. There's a computer, but you're too scared to even turn it on after all V and 707 said about security. There are sheets on the bed, but knowing they belonged to a dead chick is waaaay too much. Even if she didn't actually die in them. Which she might have. You don't rightly know. In any case, you've flopped down on the couch instead. 

It's a studio apartment, but it's a nice one. It's smaller than your place, but in a nice neighborhood in the city like this, you know square footage is at a premium. You're on like the 15th story, so while the window is tiny, it's not a bad view. There's nothing in the fridge, but there's half a roll of toilet paper. Small blessings. 

You flip idly through the messenger app. Yoosung. Jaehee Kang. Zen. Jumin Han. 707. So far he's the only one to have called you. Should you call one of them? Pbbbt, no. It's like three AM. They'll all be asleep. It's a miracle they were all on at like eleven PM, when you'd decided it was a great time of day to break into a stranger's apartment. Whatever. S'not like it's your fault your sleep schedule is borked, except in the fact that it's totally your fault and no one else's. 

You flick your phone off and let it drop down onto your chest. You stare up at the white ceiling. 

"What in the hell am I doing?"

* * *

You nearly have a heart attack when your phone rings. Not because you're expecting something, but because you always panic slightly when your phone rings. No one really calls you... ever. It’s normally a telemarketer or a scammer when you get a call, so you basically never answer. Plus you’ve just stepped outside the apartment for the first time since answering, so you’re kind of expecting an ambush. 

The call is from a number you don't know, and yet a name and image is popping up as if you've got the information saved. 707. And a familiar avatar. The “hacker” from the chatroom... 

You almost don't answer it, but curiosity wins out. You answer the phone right there in the hallway. 

"Your bank account has been used for a fun prank~" a heavily accented voice informs you. 

You blink. Just another scammer after all? 

"Were you aware of this? I must first confirm your cell phone number to verify your identity, so please calmly follow the instructions." 

So obviously a scam. But why was the picture from the chatroom...? 

...Ohhhh. 

Someone here is definitely pulling a “fun prank.” But you kind of like that. You adopt a voice just as fake as the one you’re hearing probably is, a clueless valley girl kind of voice. "Oh my god, what should I do?!" you exclaim wildly. "Do you want me to press a number? Do I type it into the phone? What prank was it??" 

There's a pause on the other line. The voice sounds a bit as if it's coming through a mouth struggling not to laugh. "Gullible customer, please calm down. And take a deep breath! Innnn... out...." 

Scammers don't even talk like this! Hilarious! But you make a big show of loudly breathing in and out. 

"Now, for confirmation, please go ahead and say 'Honey, I love you~'" 

You try not to make an audible choking noise as you struggle not to laugh. What the hell? What kind of person is like this?? Did he not expect you to answer a call from an unfamiliar number, and decided to fuck with you if you did? What a weird guy. 

Should you... play along more? 

You wind up striking a pose as you say it, just because it feels like you should, and fight a flush in your cheeks as you proudly declare, "Honey~~~ I love you~~~" in your sweetest possible tone. The voice on the line cracks into laughter. You grin as well. You suppose the game is over now. You're glad you played along... he had an infectious sort of laugh. You wouldn't mind hearing it more. 

Your antics earn you a lecture on the dangers of obvious scams, though. You feel a bit amused... does he think you're an idiot too? Well, that's only fair, right? You'd come to a stranger's apartment on the flimsiest of excuses. Gullible is the least suspicious of the options available to you. Let him think that, rather than something worse. Maybe it's stupid, but you kind of want them all to like you.

* * *

There's something definitely weird about being in a stranger's empty apartment at five AM. Knowing that it technically belonged to a dead girl is not helping. As the wee hours of the morning creep along, you're increasingly convinced that the apartment is, in fact, haunted, and you're going to open your eyes to the ghost of that Rika chick any minute now. Needless to say, you can't really sleep. The sun will be coming up soon... once it does, you should just go out to a corner store and get some stuff. The kitchen has supplies, like a rice maker and a stove, just no actual food. 

"Do I have the money to be buying groceries in a stranger's apartment in another city...?" you wonder out loud. "Well, at least I'm not paying rent." 

The messenger is stone cold silent. It's a shame, because you keep opening it and poking around. You don't blame the more well-adjusted humans for being asleep at this hour. They all seem to have jobs, with the exception of the college student. The flirty one, Zen, had been in for a few minutes around four, but he hadn't really stuck around. He seems fun... It's amusing to you, the way he flirts even though he has no idea who you are or what you look like. That sort of superficial guy would definitely be disappointed upon seeing you, but as long as you both know it's just flirtation, there's no real harm. 

Then again, he's 23 and it's been 5 years since he's had a girlfriend...? Something's got to be wrong with him, right? Maybe he's a womanizer? Or a pig? 

You really shouldn't be judging a total stranger like this, though. 

...But still, it's got to be something, right? It couldn't just be his seemingly comical levels of narcissism. You know a lot of women who would put up with a lot worse for access to someone that pretty. Seriously! And he's an actor... Oh. You should look up that youtube video. Will it show up if you just search for his name...? 

... 

Ah... damn... 

He's actually really good... not just crazy hot, but a good singer. It doesn't sound like his voice has been edited... 

"So this group is full of people like that...?" you wonder out loud, legs trailing over the back of the sofa, head angled downwards towards the floor as you dangle upside down, watching the video a second time. "I should search everyone else's names, too... Maybe something interesting will come up." 

At least it's SOMETHING to do...

* * *

You doze off for a little bit, web browser full of tabs of articles, pretty much all of them about Jumin Han--richest and assholest of the rich assholes--and the mysterious photographer V. You hadn't gotten very far, but the reading had put you to sleep, finally. 

You awake with a jolt when your phone makes a noise. Someone logged onto the chatroom... It isn't a loud noise at all, just a little ding and a vibration, but you've always been a light sleeper. Groggily, you check to see who it is. 

It's the blonde one, who's also apparently perpetually single and interested in the sudden appearance of a girl. He's not the sort of guy who should have to compete with someone like Zen; you feel kinda bad for him. Well, he's just a college student... It's not like he's wandering around with an actor in his day-to-day life. 

He's not actually that much younger than you, but somehow he feels like a little kid. Maybe because he's the most optimistic about you? Jaehee feels the oldest for the same reason. 

How does a college student wind up in a group with such illustrious members, anyway? An actor, even one that's not very famous, a famous photographer, an elite businessman and his secretary, a hacker, and... then there's a college student. Well. You suppose you should feel kindred to him; it's not like you fit in. 

Actually, that's the weirdest part. They're all so optimistic and matter-of-fact about you joining. V just declared it so, and everyone fell in line with minimal fussing. And now Zen and Yoosung both are sort of buzzing around you curiously, like you're the hot new thing on the block. 

"I could just delete the app," you reason to yourself. "Leave and go back to my place." But... why? Really, what's so important that's waiting for you back there? You have your tablet, so you can work from here with minimal difficulty. Nothing's waiting for you back home. No pets, not even fish, requiring your care. You live the kind of life where you can just vanish overnight and it doesn't really matter at all... 

What the hell do you know about hosting parties, though...? 

Well, whatever. It's not like you could drive back right now even if you wanted to. You've gotten basically no sleep. You're crashing here today whether it's smart or not... you can chat more with the people in this weird app, and figure out what you're doing... And hey, maybe if you stick around, more people will call. 

It'd... be nice to actually talk to people. That odd 707 guy had already called, and that had been... really nice, actually. And where else would you get an opportunity to get to know someone like Jumin Han? Really, shouldn't you take this as a rare opportunity? If nothing else, maybe you could get a job at his company, hahaha. 

They're not even asking for much. You just need to figure out which files are safe to bust open and then see about contacting people to see if they want to come to a party. Maybe you'll be terrible at it, but if you're not... it's kind of like networking, right?

* * *

You're halfway out the door when you hear the bink of someone logging onto the messenger, so you pause to check it. It feels weird to leave the apartment building... like you're going to get jumped as soon as you enter the stairwell. After all... SOMEONE sent you here, for SOME reason. You don't mind putting it off. 

It's Jumin Han and Zen. You're getting a bit more comfortable with Zen, but now that you've done a bit of research on Jumin Han, you're more than a little intimidated by him. Like... there's rich, and then there's _rich._ He's on a totally different level, and also hadn't he said something about pressing charges if you ran off? 

Yeah. 

Intimidating. 

And that's why chatting with him is just plain weird... It's like he's a normal person. Okay, not a normal person, but a real person. Not just a face on a billboard or whatever. He's, like, hilariously, ridiculously into his cat, for instance. You'd underestimated just how much. When you engage with him on that... well... 

You wind up putting off leaving the apartment, instead laying on the couch and processing. 

"I'll have to reconsider you." 

"I hope we talk more about cats when Zen's not here, Yu." 

What in the fuck had just happened? 

Okay, this is officially the weirdest day of your life. Not even 12 hours ago you'd broken into a stranger's apartment at the behest of some weird catfisher on a newly downloaded messenger app, and now you've got one of the richest men in Korea telling you that he looks forward to talking to you again. 

About cats. 

You'd been _turned down_ for a job at his company one time. Not even his company, actually, a subsidiary company. His dad was the owner of the company that owned the company that rejected you for a position. Now he wants to talk to you about cats. 

"Man," you say out loud, to no one in particular. "I wonder if I actually can wrangle a job out of this mess." 

You mean, you like the job you have now, but... A real job, with like, health insurance and benefits... It's tempting in its own way. You should be nice to Jumin Han. Well, it's not like you were gonna be an asshole to him before. And if you try to be nice to him on purpose, he'll probably just notice. It's not like business CEOs are unfamiliar with people sucking up to them. Still, it's not like it's pulling teeth for you to discuss cats with someone, what with their cute little noses and adorable sandpapery tongues. 

You add a memo to you phone: "discuss the tongue blep with Jumin Han of C&R." Then you just laugh for a minute and shake your head. 

"Alright, weird morning. Let's make it weirder... time to go buy sheets for the dead girl's bed."

* * *

Almost the second you open the door back to "your" apartment, your phone is going off. You fumble and nearly drop it to the ground, and wind up dropping one of your bags instead. 

Jumin Han again... oh! And that 707 guy who called you. 

Between the two of them, you feel like a friggin superstar. "Infamous Yu"? "Lady of the evening"? Pfffft. They're both silly. Although even applying a word like "silly" to Jumin Han feels weird. Silly or not, he's pretty high above you. 

That feeling of being outclassed doesn't just apply to Jumin, either. 707 is a "hacker," although you're still honestly not quite sure what that entails. Is it like Hollywood hacking? Clickity clack on the keyboard, dramatic pause... _I'm in. _..? Does he seriously work for some kind of underworld group or something? Or is he like a freelance hacker? Do those exist? How does one make a living at that?__

So many questions, so unlikely that any of them are going to be answered. 

Speaking of questions that won't be answered: did he seriously _bite a cat's neck_? You try to imagine it. You fail, and wind up imagining him biting a person's neck instead. That line of thought is not assisted by Jumin Han issuing you a formal warning about Seven that includes the words "whether you are careful or not, 707 has the ability to get his way." 

Hoo boy! 

Waaay too early in the morning for your mind to be going places like that! And about someone you just met, too! For shame. And here you were thinking Zen was kind of desperate. You're a hypocrite! 

It's actually kind of funny, both Yoosung and Zen sniffing around you like curious hounds... Is that the reason these people are so totally welcoming? Maybe they're just horndogs, pfff. It would explain why Jaehee appears to be the only one using any degree of common sense. But Seven and Jumin don't seem that way, at least. 

...Come to think of it, had Seven _really_ looked up your information...? Nah... probably not. He'd said you were cute, ha. He'd probably found some other Yu. It's a really common name, and it’s not like he has your super-unique last name to go off of. ...Hopefully. 

You check the messenger again, for no particular reason. 

Should you text Seven? 

Nah... that'd probably be weird, since you just talked to him... 

...Should you call? 

...No, definitely not. 

Technically, he'd said you could call any of the members through the app, but it seems rude to just dial up a stranger, even if you've technically talked to them online. Still, your hand hovers over the little call symbol for a few more seconds before you shut off your phone and toss it idly onto the couch. No time for that! You've got a dead-bed that needs its sheets changed! Then you're gonna cook a super late breakfast... technically lunch, probably... and maybe get a nap in. 

You'll make this dead-girl-apartment feel more lived in and less like it's definitely, 100% haunted, ASAP.

* * *

Even an unlived in apartment, after two years, develops a certain sort of... musty funk. So, despite the fact you haven't cleaned your own apartment in like two months, you set to work. You open the window, which is actually pretty nice for an apartment this size. It doesn't open all the way, and it has a screen, but it gets some air flowing. 

You wind up going full maid, tying your hair back with a handkerchief, and just cleaning the whole thing in one go. You start with the bed; those dead-girl sheets go in a trash bag that you drag out of the apartment altogether. What, like Rika's gonna complain? Then you clean out cobwebs and dust... carefully... with a lot of screeching. You have horrible arachnophobia. Even the tiny ones, just... ugh. There's no mercy from you, no releasing them outdoors. They die. They all die. And the cobwebs are cleared off with a broom held at maximum distance. 

You're just getting tired when you hear the phone go off from where it sits on the couch. Well, that's as good an excuse to take a break as any. You flop down onto the couch and flick it on. The messenger loads up immediately; it's the last thing you had open. 

Ah! It's Seven again! And Yoosung. They're talking... you're tempted to just watch, but wind up jumping right in once his work comes up. What's he researching? 

Oh. 

You. 

He's researching you. 

... Is he running a background check...? 

No... isn't that too basic for a hacker? Anyone can do that. Now your mind is considering every single thing you've ever posted on social media. 

Oh god. 

Has he FOUND anything?! 

He announces he's found your cup size, and your hand flies to your chest. Oh god! You need to pay more attention to what you post on Facebook! When had you said that?! FUCK, oh god, that's-- 

Oh. 

He was joking. 

Aheheh... You knew that... Obviously... 

No, actually, he's not researching you so much as he is “Unknown,” that weird guy who you'd been pretty convinced was a serial killer. It doesn't seem like he's going to tell you what he finds, though, unless his leash-holder, V, tells him he can. You're a little sour about that, but you can understand it. Still, it involves you, and your safety... Not that you can really complain about that; you're the idiot who came here thinking you were gonna get shanked. So you let it go. 

Well, with a bit of teasing. You can't help it. Yoosung was like, designed to be teased. 

Yoosung★: "But still, you’re happy that you met us, right Yu?"  
Yu: "I’m kind of bored tbh"  
Yoosung★: "Wow... so brutal".  
707: "lolol"  
707: " **I’ll make it more interesting ^^** "

You feel your face heating up. Thank god this thing doesn't have video calls... Thank god you're not on the phone! If he'd said that out loud... 

Friggity. 

Yoosung★: "If you fall for Seven;;"  
Yoosung★: "he’ll make you join forces with the devil, Yu"

You’re already on the side of the devil, if your father is to be believed, haha... You want to take a moment to compose yourself, but now Seven's talking about what he'd do with his girlfriend. Argh... Out in one of his cars?! Goddamnit! Critical hit... you love cars, and adore driving. And Seven has really fancy cars, too! You wanna go for a ride! 

...With a _hacker_ you don't even _know._

Why are you like this?!

* * *

Jaehee calls you as you're cooking lunch--soondubu jjigae, because you're lazy, and because you can put the leftovers in the fridge. You grab the phone the second it starts ringing... you were hoping for Seven, because you're pathetic. Still, it's nice to be called. No one's called you other than telemarketers in like, years, until today. 

She has a nice voice, to be honest. You hadn't expected it... in the chatroom, she kind of talked like a robot. Did you expect her to sound like a robot...? Or an old lady? She just sounds like a normal girl around your age, though. You feel embarrassed by how much more together her life is, when compared to yours. She's only a few years older than you... 

You chat with her a little bit while cooking, until work pulls her away. You wonder if there's a story behind her dislike for pets. Maybe she's sick about hearing it, since she works for Jumin Han? Or maybe she just doesn't like animals. Maybe she has a fur allergy, like Zen? 

The soondubu comes out pretty good. You're relaxing and digesting after eating when the chatroom goes off again. Jaehee again... It must be her lunch hour, too. You chat with her for a bit. You feel like maybe she's warming up to you? You hope so--she seems to be the only one particularly suspicious. It's just your natural instinct to want to throw off suspicion through whatever means necessary. You crave innocence, or perceived innocence, because therein lies safety. ...Again, according to your dad, at least, haha... 

You stare at the ceiling for a bit, your thoughts chasing themselves around in circles. Around the time they land back on Seven, you decide it's time to get back up and start cleaning again.

* * *

Jumin Han is going to give you fits. And of an entirely different kind than Seven. 

Well. Maybe not an entirely different kind. 

He's killing you, honestly. Sometimes he seems almost normal, and then other times he's making not-so-veiled threats that chill the blood in your veins. He must realize it, but a man of his position could effectively end your life. You hadn't signed up for that! You'd signed up for a serial killer or something, damnit! Well, this is probably a step up... But you don’t get an interesting experience story out of dying by rich man. That happens to people all the time, every day. Serial killers are at least a more unique way to go, ugh. 

Still, even as you're reeling from the subtle threat and moving to placate him, he has to call you a "smart girl." Smile emoji included. 

Like... fuck. 

Is he doing it on purpose...? It's certainly keeping you off balance, which gives him an advantage. He's a rich and powerful man. You wouldn't be overestimating him to think that way, would you? 

Well, you suppose in the end, it doesn't matter. He's been super clear--if you do a good job, everyone will be happy. You feel a bit more serious about it now... or maybe it's just because you've been cleaning and that always makes you feel super productive. But if you somehow help pull this off... A lot of good could come out of that, and not just for you. You've never really done charity work before. It'd be nice to actually do something meaningful, as Jumin put it. 

You snort to yourself. He really must be good, to have you thinking seriously about something like this. Twenty-four hours ago, you'd been idly wondering whether or not you could pull off starving yourself to death out of sheer lack of will to move. Now you're thinking seriously about trying to throw some giant charity party worthy of top-tier people like Jumin Han. 

Ridiculous... 

...Still... It wouldn't be bad to look for some documents about the last party, right? V had given you some idea of where to find them. As long as you avoided locked drawers, you should be fine. They had a lot of layers of security for the stuff you really weren't supposed to see. Ridiculous amounts, really. What kind of crazy secrets were locked up in this apartment to make them so paranoid? 

You try to forcibly suppress your curiosity, since you don't want Jumin to put a hit out on you, or Seven to... do whatever scary hacker thing he does. Instead, you thumb around for some basic information, settle down at the desk, and start reading.

* * *

You burn the early afternoon away reading what you can about past parties... You can't make a lot of sense of it, though. Guh... Where do you start? There's so much here... 

You're happy for the interruption when Zen logs into the chatroom. You throw your papers to the side and grab your phone instead. He's back from practice... You wonder what that's like? More importantly, he's on about the old parties, and how huge and great and full of people in the art industry they were. Just in case you weren't already feeling the pressure enough, now you can feel it like a heavy boot on the back of your neck--a mental image that flashes through about three of the members before settling comfortably on Jumin. 

Wow, what happened to your self-control? Add a few attractive men and apparently it vanishes in the blink of an eye. It's not your fault! Zen's flirting! And Seven is too, at least once, maybe. Possibly. He could have just been joking around. And Jumin... 

You have no excuse there. None. He's just alternating between being intimidating and friendly, and it's doing weird things to you, damnit! 

And Zen doesn't help in the least. Just when you've distracted yourself thinking about V and his secrets instead of Jumin and increasingly implausible scenarios involving "punishment" for your inability to perform adequately for the party... He goes and posts a selfie. Of himself at practice... in that hot, humid room. 

Wearing just a white tank, clearly damp with sweat. Practically see-through in places, clinging to his chest-- 

Sweet merciful Christ. You wish you had one of the nuns from school here with you now. Especially Sister Agnes. She'd beat some sense back into you. 

But nope. 

It's just you, in an empty apartment, with a picture of a really hot sweaty guy. 

...And honestly, those beatings had never worked, they’d just given you some weird tastes... 

What happens next would be inevitable, if not for the fact that just as you're overcoming the crushing guilt and giving into the urges of hormones, your phone rings, giving you about sixteen concurrent heart attacks. 

It's just Yoosung. Thank god. If it had been literally any other guy, you probably would have combusted, but Yoosung... He should be a good distraction, right? He's like a kid... even though he's only a few years younger. 

Chatting with him for a bit about everyone's suspicion towards you--he thinks it was excessive, you think (privately) that there wasn't nearly enough of it--and about LoLoL, at the very least manages to distract you. Though you do think that maybe it's time for a shower, after the two of you finally hang up.

* * *

You're on the messenger in a flash the second you hear a noise. You don't wanna keep doing this work, ugh. And good thing you were fast, too! It's Seven! And just Seven. You appreciate the chance to talk to him one on one. 

Ugh. 

Flirt with him one on one more like. You're terrible. The nuns would be ashamed of you. Your mother would be ashamed of... Well, actually, that's nothing new. 

You _still_ don't know whether or not Seven actually hacked into your accounts, which makes you nervous... And also something a bit akin to nervousness but not quite the same. You hope it's not excitement. It better not fucking be excitement. The day you get tingly over the idea of a hacker spying on you is the day you check back into therapy. 

Of course, then Seven sends you a picture of what turns out to be him, in a blonde wig and rather flattering white dress. The worst thing is, that's like the first proper selfie you've seen of him! Augh! How were you supposed to know?! And to make things even worse, he's really, REALLY cute. M-maybe it's just the makeup? Sure, maybe, except you're staring at his neck and clavicle a lot more than his lips. 

Oh god. 

You quickly close out of the image for the third time, and try not to open again. 

You fail, opening it again not ten seconds later to stare some more. 

Oh, sure, Seven had said some kind of alarming stuff about you being in possible danger towards the end, but you already knew that, you're not stupid. You'd been catfished by, apparently, a really talented hacker, into coming into this super classified apartment, probably for 100% nefarious purposes. Just because you've decided to settle in and make a home of it doesn't make the situation less ridiculous or dangerous... Just more fun. And really, isn’t that exactly what you’d been hoping for? 

Well, at least Seven is holding to his promise of making it "more interesting." His mind works so fast that even _you_ feel like you're jogging to keep up. And you’re the one used to making other people run around. You’re so used to being able to predict exactly how people will respond that it had gotten kind of boring. But Seven... He keeps you on your toes. He's interesting, he's hyper, he's funny. Talking to the others has been fun too--particularly Zen and Jumin, who are just as good at sparking your, uh, “creativity”--but you don't think you've ever met someone like Seven before. 

You open the picture yet again. 

Yeah. 

You'd definitely remember meeting someone who looked _that_ good in a dress.

* * *

The work for the party is... really something. 

It seems like every time you turn around, people are piling more explanation--and more pressure--onto you. Between that and the reading you're doing, you're starting to get a pretty clear picture of what part is actually your job. The literal party planning--what you'd been nervous of--is actually more up to the others. The funding comes from Jumin, no surprise there. A lot of the footwork belongs to Jaehee. You're willing to bet Seven handles security. You're... not super sure what Yoosung does, actually, but it's probably important. 

The thing that you do really does seem to be just dealing with people. The guests. Deciding who comes and who doesn't, convincing difficult guests to come... You're the face of the party. The face of the organization, now, in a sense. Which is ridiculous as you joined... 18 hours ago. 

But still, seeing everyone talk about it so hopefully and excitedly is making you really want to try your best. Well. It's more that Jumin's unique one-two punch of threatening your well-being and then calling you a "good girl" or a "smart girl" when you acquiesce to his wishes had made you decide to try your best. You’re kind of weak to being praised. And you’re pretty sure everyone is weak to be threatened... Everything else past that has just made you more determined. 

Just when you're thinking of him, too... the phone rings. You damn near jump out of your skin, then again when you look down and see the avatar. 

Jumin Han is calling you. 

Your hand hesitates for a bit over the answer button. What would be worse, making an idiot out of yourself or ignoring his call? With a nervous gulp, you pick up. 

Haha, oh gosh, he has a nice voice. And he's a bit cocky, too, no wonder he and Zen don't get along... 

"I'm sure you're glad to talk to me, but no need to get too excited." 

It would be fucking obnoxious if he weren't 100% right. Is it arrogance if he's just stating facts? You are pretty excited. Definitely the richest person you've ever talked to, although you're not really thinking about that at the moment. 

So you try to just talk to him like a normal human would and not to be a total weirdo. He says he called just to hear what you sound like, so you ask him his thoughts on the matter. Your heart about stops in your chest when he begins explaining that "often, there will be one person with a voice that hurts your ears. Someone with an annoying voice that just reminds you of shattering glass." Oh God. But fortunately, he goes on to clarify your voice ISN'T like that. Then was it necessary to bring up?! You'd been about to swear off talking! 

Interestingly, the two of you actually wind up chatting for a while... almost twenty minutes, the whole tail end of his commute. Traffic had apparently been bad, and you'd been unexpectedly entertaining. You feel... pretty good about that. And you had gotten to talk to him about tongue bleps, so you can cross that one off your to-do list. Your obsession with that might run even deeper than his... you really want to see Elizabeth tongue-blepping. He's understanding of your desire--after all, everyone would want to see Elizabeth the 3rd as much as possible. 

You don't just talk about Elizabeth, although you probably could have filled 20 minutes that way pretty easily. You find out a bit about him, too. He doesn't really ask you a lot of questions about yourself, which is nice. He doesn't even ask you your age. Maybe some people would find that narcissistic, and maybe it is, but you certainly don't mind not being quizzed. 

You hang up the phone feeling satisfied. You'd done well... and you could listen to his voice for another 20 minutes, easy. Hopefully you'll get the chance to again.

* * *

You actually wind up chatting a bit more with Jumin that very day, after dinner. You called him by accident, but you adjust quickly and just ask him if he’s eaten. Instead of thinking you careless, he thinks you odd... but maybe not in a bad way. You only chat for about five minutes, and in it he manages to compare you to Elizabeth the 3rd yet again... but you're pretty sure that's high praise. 

You talk with him on the messenger a lot that night, too. You suppose now that he's home from work, he has nothing better to do. 

It's funny to watch him and Zen fight, to be honest. You're never going to point this out, but it humanizes Jumin a bit, to have a someone just bickering and picking at him. It makes him less scary. Plus it's cute in that fo-yay kind of way... another thing you'll definitely never mention. 

Well. 

No time soon, anyway. You're willing to bet the reactions would be priceless, especially from Zen. There might be a day where you totally do that. But not today, not when you're still a curiosity. 

Pressure continues to mount, in regards to the party. Not even a day, and all they can talk about was how great the old parties were, how excited they are at the prospect of starting them back up again. You feel like a catalyst, sure, but a fucking NERVOUS catalyst! You really have to perform. Jumin even says it's your chance to "prove your worth," which simultaneously makes you want to do just that and also shove him into a pool, expensive suit and all. Hmm... Maybe you can have a pool at the party. That way you can kill two birds with one stone. Your worth: throwing great parties and shoving uppity executives into pools.

* * *

You're staring out your own window at the city in the rain when Jumin sends a picture of the same city out of a much larger window. You're too impressed by the beauty of the view to even be jealous, in that moment. It's so nice out... It's been drizzly since morning, which Zen had been complaining about, but you thoroughly enjoy. In between bursts of reading up on the past parties and texting Jaehee endless questions--which she answers, bless her heart--you daydream about Seven's cars and long hair in the wind. Driving up to the top of a mountain and sitting in a car in the rain, listening to music and the sound of thunder. 

It's a good way to spend your early evening. You'll have to go to bed at some point. You're exhausted. You'd normally be asleep at this point... but you want to get your sleep schedule back to something approaching a normal human now that you're interacting with other people. Gives you an excuse to stay up, if nothing else. 

It's a bit funny to you that Jumin thought Jaehee would be against holding the party when she's been the one you'd been turning to for help all afternoon... Jumin had _told_ you to! Still, you're glad you definitely have her behind it. It seems like she's the hardest worker in the RFA... It stings a bit to know she doesn't trust you, but that's just your anxiety. You don't really take it personally... it makes sense to be suspicious. You showed up under really suspicious circumstances. 

Everyone else being so nice was almost enough to make you forget just how strange the whole situation is. You're almost glad to have Jaehee's suspicion to remind you of the NORMAL reaction... and that you should still be a little careful. Even though you intend to do everything you can, you're still a stranger in a strange and possibly dangerous place. There's a hacker at large, who brought you here for mysterious purposes. 

Still, with Jaehee being skeptical, you find you kind of want to impress her as much as you want to impress Jumin. Which is silly; impressing Jumin could land you a really good job and "effing fantastic" connections. Impressing his secretary? Not so much. But, to be honest, you don't want to impress "Jumin Han's assistant." You want to impress Jaehee. 

More and more reasons to do your best. You set down your phone, pull over the files, and get back to work.

* * *

You're drowsing off in your chair when the messenger beeps, jolting you awake. It's ten PM... you suppose you could go to bed around now and it would be fine. But first... ah, it's Zen. 

It's fun to chat with him... easy. Comfortable. He's easy to talk to; there's not really a lot of effort involved. It's not tense like it is with Jumin--even if you kinda like that tension--or like a race like it is with Seven. 

Talking with Jaehee motivates you. Talking with Jumin leaves you a bit breathless, scared, and excited, like racing on the edge of a skyscraper. Talking with Seven is invigorating in a different way, leaves you with so much energy you feel like you could kick down a door... or clean an entire apartment in a day, which you had... and always leaves you wanting more. 

Talking with Zen isn't like any of that. It's just relaxing. You don't feel like you have to prove anything or be paying super close attention. You can just sort of.. idly chat. 

Still, you can't turn off the "paying super close attention" part of your brain, not really. And you can't help but wonder... why _wouldn't_ V let you meet anyone in person? Surely you could go some place third party, like a coffee shop, so long as you didn't reveal the address of the apartment... So why? This V guy... isn't he kind of suspicious? 

Well, suspicious is the natural extension of mysterious, and V is definitely that. Still, he's obviously the centerpiece of the organization, so you keep your suspicions to yourself. Maybe Zen would be able to answer your questions if you asked, or if not him, then Seven or Jumin. But you don't even want to be seen asking right now. 

And you can't ask V either... his number doesn't seem to be in the messenger. You can't text or call him. 

It's not even five minutes after Zen left the chatroom. You're still in the messenger, changing your avatar to a sleepy pug, when your phone rings unexpectedly, startling you. Huh... it's Zen. He'd just left, why is he calling? 

"Hey, where are you?" 

...? 

"Uhm... the apartment?" you reply uncertainly. 

"What are you talking about? What apartme--Huh? Ah! I'm sorry! What am I saying to someone I just met... I was trying to call someone else! Sorry!" 

You can't help but laugh. You'd done that to Jumin earlier, but you'd collected yourself a lot better than Zen. It's kind of nice to see him goof up like this. 

The two of you wind up chatting for a bit, though not too long since he still has to call his friend. He's loose and casual, and just as relaxing to talk to on the phone. He has a really great voice... you can see why he's an actor. Crazy hot, good voice, great singer... You're amazed he's not in a band or something. 

You have to wonder, though, with as many hints as he keeps dropping about being single... Ha... hints. Wasn't his profile "I'm single by the way" at one point? That's not dropping hints, that's smashing you upside the head with a clue-by-four. Dude doesn't even know what you look like... it's got to just be harmless flirting, right?

* * *

You know... you'd managed not to do anything inappropriate so far, particularly involving Zen or his selfies... You were kinda proud of yourself for that. But God was clearly testing you, because Yoosung--aka Judas--sends you a picture of Zen lounging in a Zorro costume, shirt open. Dude is ripped! Total six pack! You could bounce 100 won coins off them. Lord have mercy... 

You'd decided to stop working and lay down in your newly-sheeted bed, but your mind is still bouncing around on the events of the day. And unfortunately, it's mostly landing in inappropriate places. It's not your fault, damnit! People kept making comments about Seven being a sadist, you’re weak for ANYONE in tailored suits, and Zen basically has the body of a marble statue. 

Thank god for Yoosung. Safe little Yoosung, the only one who hasn't been inspiring your imagination all day. Even Jaehee and her beyond-cute short hair is more inspiring than Yoosung. He's like a space place. Every time your mind wanders to sinful places, you drag it back by thinking about innocent little Yoosung, who would probably be devastated to learn you'd been masturbating in his dead cousin's bed. 

Actually, thinking about it as being a dead girl's bed kind of helps... but also has you climbing out of bed to go lay on the couch again instead. It's just too freaky, even with the new sheets, ugh! Hopefully time will help. The couch is comfy but you don't want to sleep on it indefinitely. 

Of course, being on the couch instead of the dead-bed isn't really helping you sleep. Instead, your mind is considering how the members of the RFA would look with their shirts off. 

You don't even think you believe in "sin" anymore, but your Catholic guilt isn't going anywhere. You bounce around between idle fantasies and feeling like a bad person for entertaining those idle fantasies for a couple of hours before giving up on sleep and taking your second shower of the day. 

... Yeah... Turns out... being naked and wet does not serve as a distraction from sexual fantasies. It, in fact, makes them infinitely worse. 

You do feel better when you get out, but it wasn't thanks to the water, and you feel distinctly like you owe Seven and Zen an apology.

* * *

You must have fallen asleep at some point, because you dreamt. 

The sounds of traffic, muffled by the rain and trickling in the open window, invade the dream, which consists mostly of driving. You're in one of Seven's fancy-ass sports cars. The dream can't quite decide which one of you is driving... you alternate, and at one point, the car appears to be driving itself. The night is dark, but the stars are bright enough that you don't have any problem seeing the road. You're up in the mountains... 

"How is your car driving itself?" you ask, because you can't relax and let cool things just happen, even when you're asleep. 

"I'm a computer genius," Seven replies casually, leaning back in his seat. "Of course I can make a self-driving car." 

Oh, well, that makes perfect sense. At least within the confines of the dream it does. You'll be seriously questioning your subconscious after you wake up. 

"You know... with the car driving itself, we don't have to worry about being distracted," Seven says slyly. You glance over at him, and start. Why is he wearing that crazy Zorro outfit from Zen's poster?! Also, is it really likely that a hacker has that kind of a body?! 

"Oh, um, I..." 

"Don't you want to?" he asks, shifting closer, over the gear stick. "I could show you why Jumin doesn't let me come over anymore~" he adds playfully. The back of your mind is screaming that this is terribly impractical behavior in a car, but everything seems to be working pretty well to YOU. 

"What was it..." he murmurs against your neck. "Something about... biting?" 

And his teeth close against your skin, the gasp and the jolt shoot you bolt upright in bed, panting and flushed. 

...

...

...FIFTY Hail Marys! Where's the nearest confessional?!


	2. Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The coding in this was a nightmare. OTL Every single bracket broke Ao3's automatic HTML... Do you know how often one character or another uses ">_<"? I'm looking at you, Seven! (Fun fact it even broke the text in the friggin header. What did I write? It was a lot and I don't remember it because the evil < ate everything like a hungry crocodile. 
> 
> I believe it was a request for feedback regarding the emojis in the chapter. I went back and forth and back and forth on how to integrate those freaking emojis. Text only? Text and link? How to translate some of them... using the emojis themselves... And finally decided to just bite the bullet and try sticking them in there. So please tell me what you think. OTL Too big? Too small? Immersion breaking? Love them? Hate them? Tell me. ;-; I tried so hard you guys, so please tell me.

Fortunately, you don't have to go back to sleep after your ill-advised midnight dream-tryst. There's life in the chatroom! Yoosung and--

Seven. 

The Lord is testing you, and you don't know why, because that bastard should have figured out by now that you're one weak motherfucker. 

And because you're weak, you charge right in to say hello. Or it's more apt to say, the two of them notice you the second you enter the room. Seven's still trying to find out details about the hacker, which is a bit nerve-wracking. How good was this guy...? Everyone seems to think Seven is one of the best there is. You briefly consider that maybe Seven just isn't THAT good, but considering even Jumin's trepidation about him, that seems unlikely. Which means... how good is the opposing hacker, exactly...? 

Your nerves aside, everything is going smoothly until Seven goes and mentions a ~girlfriend~ again. 

707: “At times like this,”  
707: “it'd be so nice to get a text from my girlfriend saying,”  
707: “ **Sweetie, you can do it! >_<**”  
Yoosung★: “Seven;;”  
Yoosung★: “You know that's not gonna happen lololol”  
707: “I have a girlfriend.”  
707: “You didn't know?”  
Yoosung★: “OMG WHAT?! I didn't!”  
Yoosung★: “For real???;;;;”  
707: “Yup.” 

Your heart about drops into your shoes... leaving you feeling like a complete idiot when he immediately follows up with an obvious joke. 

707: “ **606, my imaginary girlfriend living in the world of binary numbers.** ”  
Yoosung★: “...606?;;” 

 

Well! Two can play! He's not the only one who knows binary... 

Yu: “110-000-110 & 111-000-111”  
707: “Omg.”  
707: “I just”  
707: “imagined something I shouldn't have”  
707: “inside my head.”  


Now there’s a show you’d like to be invited to. What’s he thinking? You’d like to know. You kind of doubt that it’s anything as bad as what _you’ve_ been imagining... 

Yoosung★: “What does that mean?”  
707: “You're too young”  
707: “for me to tell you...”  
707: “Gahhhh”  
707: “ **My heart's about to pop out!!** ” 

...Or maybe not? Maybe you scored a critical hit. It's hard to tell whether or not he's just pretending to be affected, to be honest! But that's kind of part of what makes it fun. Occasionally flustering him is difficult, and the difficulty prompts you to try harder and push it further. 

Of course, Seven often pushes back.

Yoosung★: “Yu;;;”  
Yoosung★: “Seven's always like that so don't get too freaked out.”  
707: “ **I am a bit too cute and foxy.** ”  
  
Yoosung★: “;;;You should be careful of Seven.”  
Yoosung★: “Most of the times, you can’t even understand what he’s saying...”  
Yoosung★: “ **And he does dangerous things.** ”  
Yu: “I don’t hate that.”  
  
707: “Don’t worry”  
707: “I like peace.  
707: “I love peace.”  
707: " >_< "  
Yoosung★: “Then stop abusing Jumin’s cat.”  
707: “I’m only showing her love!”  
Yoosung★: “If that’s the case,  
Yoosung★: “then your live must be seriously twisted.”  
707: “...”  


You hope he isn’t hurt, because honestly, you’d thought that too but, uh... not in a bad way. Or at least not in an undesirable way... 

Yu: “I don’t hate that either~ I like twisted love~”  
  
707: " **I’m always ready.** "  


... Oh. Oh god, the places your mind had gone. Well you’d kind of deserved that one but... That is not what you need to hear after the dream you JUST woke up from! You can't get the feeling of teeth on your neck out of your damn head! Augh! You need another fucking shower! 

Yoosung leaves, and Seven follows soon after, but you stay in the chatroom for a bit, reading and rereading a few choice messages. 

You thumb over to the text option and hesitate. Forward or funny? Is it forward or funny? Ugh... Nervously, you type in a message and hit send. 

Yu: “Sweetie, you can do it! >_< " 

... 

... 

... is it possible to delete a text you've already sent...?

* * *

Your first guest email comes courtesy of Jumin, who wants to invite a charity that helps stray cats. That seems like a really good cause to you. This is suppose to be a charity party, right? So you should invite a handful of charities... They can probably find sponsors and shit. 

You'd think it would be as easy as that, but no, apparently you even need to convince the charities to come. Hopefully it won't be too difficult. 

After shooting off an e-mail to the cat charity, you head outside... to find that your car has been towed. 

Of course... the apartment complex parking would be for people who live there only! You don't have a sticker! You're probably legally a squatter... fuck! 

Frantically, you whip out your phone and call Jumin, pacing up and down the sidewalk. 

"Jumin!" you exclaim the second he's picked up. 

"It's considered polite to say hello and identify yourself first, you know." 

"...Hello, Jumin!" you say, a little aggressively, considering you're calling to ask for a favor. "It's Yu! How are you this fine morning!" 

"There's no need to be sarcastic." 

"My car's been towed!" 

There's a pause on the line. "...You have a car? Is that necessary for someone--" 

"However you intend to finish that sentence, I won't appreciate it," you interrupt. 

"Why did you call me and not Jaehee?" 

"Because you said to call you in emergencies," you reply. "And because I don't think Jaehee has 150,000 won lying around..." 

"...Send me your license plate and car information and I'll have someone locate it. Why was it towed?" 

"I'm not allowed to park here," you say with a sigh. "I didn't even think about it... I didn't think I'd be here this long." 

"Hmm... Is there any reason you need your car while you're staying there?" Jumin asks. 

"Well... it's my _car_ ," you say, a little hotly. "...But... I suppose not," you admit. "There's a bus stop like a block away." 

"It maybe easiest for us to hold onto it for you, then, until we sort things out. Let me have someone look into it." 

"Thanks, Jumin," you say, and mean it. "Seriously... There's no way I could have afforded to get that thing out..." 

"I thought you said it was 150,000 won?" 

"Yeah, and I blew all my spare money this month just getting rice and kimchi for the apartment... I'm flat broke until the first." 

"...Do you know where the C&R head office is?" 

"Uh... yes... I do now, anyway. Why? Is that where you're going to put my car?" 

"Show up there today, and tell the front desk greeter your name." 

And then he hangs up. 

...The fuck...? Are you even allowed to...? Hadn't Zen just made a stink about V not letting people see you...? Well, whatever, as long as he gets in trouble and not you. Time to look up the bus schedule and figure out how to get to C&R. Like you've got anything else going on today.

* * *

You arrive at C&R, full of uncertainty and trepidation. You're glad you did that research on the members of the RFA... At least you'd known where Jumin's office was. It takes you a few minutes to gather up the courage to go inside... it's only the presence of security that look like they'd discourage loitering that gets you in the front door. 

You nervously skitter up to the front desk. The lady behind it looks at you expectantly. 

"Umm... my name is M. C. Yu?" you say nervously, wondering if she'll actually need your full name, or if your initials will do. 

"Oh, Miss Yu," she says with a knowing nod. "Here you are." She matter of factly hands over an envelope. 

...Why do you feel like you've missed some crucial detail here...? But the lady seems to feel like that's the extent of the interaction, so you just thank her and walk out. No one so much as looks at you odd, despite the fact that you're probably the most underdressed one in the entire building. You duck to the side once you're out of sight of the building, and nervously open the envelope, which isn't even sealed. 

... 

That's uh 

That's just a whole bunch of 50,000 won notes, yep. 

... 

Your hand is already going for your phone. 

"...Jumin? Hello. It's Yu," you say dutifully. 

"Hello. If you're calling about your car, I've sent someone to pick it up. I'm going to have it parked in with the business cars for now." 

"Thank you, but I was actually calling because... um... I've just stopped by your office." 

"Was there an issue?" 

"...That depends. Did you intend to give me an envelope with like a million won in it?" 

"Of course," Jumin says, sounding confused. "...Oh, I understand. You were concerned that there had been a mistake. I appreciate your honesty, then. That was intentional, however. It will be easier if you have your own cash supply while you're living in a strange place. I believe it's called... 'walking around money'?" 

"...Yes," you say, your voice cracking heavily. "I believe it is." 

"Your voice sounds hoarse. You should purchase some tea. I've heard chamomile works well for sore throats. You have a good voice. You should take care of it." 

"Right. Yes. Right. I'll go do that now, then. Thank you." 

"I'll speak to you later, then. Call Jaehee if you need anything else." 

... 

Welp.

* * *

You buy some chamomile tea on your way home. The pharmacy lady looks at you odd when you pay with a 50,000 won note. You just sort of smile dazedly. 

You're at home idly staring at the money when the chatroom dings. It takes you a minute to tear your eyes away. A million won he'd just handed you... So you could buy like... tea and groceries... 

These are some of those networking benefits, huh... 

You do eventually grab the phone, and you're glad you did. It's Seven! The money lays forgotten as you grip the phone more firmly, thumbs beginning a rapid dance across the keyboard. 

It's so fun to talk to Seven~ When you feed into his energy, it becomes a rapidly tightening spiral. It makes you feel lively... no... it makes you feel alive. 

It sounds so silly, but honestly... you've felt like the walking dead for half a year now. Like your soul had left your body, but your mind hadn't gotten the memo that you were supposed to have died. But talking to Seven, honestly, you feel like no one has ever been more ALIVE then the two of you. 

It’s kind of like... walking into the warm summer sun after spending so long locked inside... Are you a sunflower, turning towards the light and growing from it? Or maybe the moon, reflecting it...? Ah... You’re getting too poetic. It’s a serious problem for you. You can turn anything into an overwrought metaphor. 

You beg a selfie out of him, or try to. It's a weird picture that probably doesn't qualify as a selfie, unless he used one of those tiny helicopters to take it. You'd kind of been hoping for one that showed off his... well, him, a bit more. The picture is really cool, though. You wish you knew what the hell was going on in it. It looks like he's putting on a magic show or something. Is this what hackers do...? Looks like a sci fi movie. 

You also get a picture of his cars, which is honestly just as good. 

Yu: "Take me for a ride in the red one!"  
  
707: "You want to go for a ride?"  
707: "I'm a dangerous man, you know!"  
707: "You shouldn't go for rides with strangers~"  
Yu: "If I wasn't overly trusting of strangers, we wouldn't be having this conversation."  
707: "That's not reassuring!"  
707: "Be more careful meow!"  
Yu: "So you won't take me?"  
Yu: ":3 <\-- happy cat rides in Seven's awesome car"  
Yu: "3: <\-- sad unloved cat doesn't get to ride"  
707: "omg"  
707: "you're good"  
707: "have I met"  
707: "my match?!"  
Yu: "watch out~ I could be an enemy hacker~~~"  
707: "Nah, your job is much more interesting"  
Yu: "?!"  
707: "Never knew you could do that for a living lol"  
Yu: "OMG"  
707: "Oh no~ more work just came in~"  
Yu: "SEVEN"  
707: "Gotta go~"  
Yu: "wait"  
\--707 has left the chatroom--  


...friggity... 

...he was just bluffing right...? 

* * *

Jumin Han: "Yu, what is it that you do for a living?" 

The question is an innocent one, but it's kind of a loaded question for you. 

Yu: "Top secret~"  
Yoosung★: "?! Are you a hacker too???"  
Jaehee: "There are two now..."  
Jumin: "I ask because you mentioned your next pay wasn't until the first of the month. In most jobs, it's customary to be paid every one to two weeks."  
Yoosung★: "Why were you two talking about money, anyway?"  
Jaehee: "Yu's car was towed."  
  
Yoosung★: "You have a car?!"  
Jaehee: "Why is that the part that surprised you...?"  
Yoosung★: "I thought Yu was a student, like me! Why does she need a car?"  
Jumin: "I asked that too."  
Jumin: "She evaded the question."  
  
Yu: "I grew up in the country, so I'm used to driving."  
Jumin: "Does your job involve driving?"  
Yoosung★: "Come to think of it, are you far away from your job now, Yu?"  
Jaehee: "True, we don't even know where she's from. Although Seven probably does..."  
Yu: "I work from home."  
Yoosung★: "Oh~ How modern~"  
Jumin: "I suppose that must be why the pay period is so odd."  
Jaehee: "What sort of work?"  
Yu: "..."  
Yoosung★: "Guys~ Maybe she doesn't want to say. Don't be mean."  
Jumin: "I'm a little worried now."  
Jaehee: "...It's not anything untoward, is it?"  
Yu: "What are you guys thinking?!"  
Yoosung★: "I wonder if that's why Seven knew she was cute..."  
Yu: "???"  
Yu: "Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it!"  
Yu: "I'm an author! I write!"  
Jumin: "Oh."  
Yoosung★: "I-I wasn't thinking anything weird!!"  
Jaehee: "...It's obvious you were..."  
Yoosung★: "No way!!!"  
Jumin: "So you get a commissary price every month? I've heard that's how freelance writers are paid."  
Yu: "Yeah."  
Yoosung★: "Seriously, I wasn't thinking anything weird!"  
Yu: "Stop digging the hole deeper, Yoosung."  


The conversation, thankfully, continues on normally from there. Geez... why all this interest in your job? Not like you could tell Jumin to fuck off after he just handed you like an entire month's pay... At least they hadn't pressed any further. And it's not like they'd find anything if they searched your name online, either... 

You do kind of wonder if Seven knows, though. 

Ugh. 

Hopefully not. 

It's not that you're ashamed of what you do. You actually really like it! Freelance on the side keeps you fed, and donations and subscriptions make up the rest. It's far from well-paying, but you enjoy yourself. But it's a bit embarrassing... Hopefully, they don't find out about it. It wouldn't be impossible for a skilled hacker (or even a skilled stalker) to discover, but hopefully Seven was serious when he said he wasn't actually hacking your accounts. 

There are probably worse ways to make your money than writing smut on the internet, but it's still not something you want to advertise to your new friends.

* * *

Are you doing this emailing thing right...? 

You're just talking to this person about cats... Well, it is a cat charity... Maybe the allergy specialist will be different? Ugh... you just wish you knew whether or not you were doing this right. 

A ding on your phone serves as a helpful distraction. Between work for the party and your actual job, you'll probably be really busy for a long time. At least you can be distracted talking to people! When's the last time you talked to someone other than your... uh... supporters...? 

Seven! 

It's Seven! 

You enter the chatroom in a flash. Talking to him is like a shot of espresso... no, ristretto! Goes down smooth~ Yeah... Seven Zero Seven: triple of ristretto! Better than caffeine! The energy of God Seven, coursing through your veins! 

Oh man, he posted another picture of his cars... You wanna go for a ride, seriously! Why won't he take you? Boo... He keeps waving those things in front of your face. 

Yu: "Jumin would take me for a ride in a fancy car~"  
707: "omg"  
707: "I'm being replaced??"  
707: "so easy"  
  
707: "Actually, Mr. CEO can't drive."  
Yu: "omg seriously?"  
707: "He has people for that"  
Yu: "The life of the elite..."  
Yu: "I'd never give up driving no matter how much money I had!"  
707: "Oooh, a racer?"  
Yu: "When I was younger lol"  
  
707: "a girl who races cars..."  
707: "is there a movie about you??"  
Yu: "LOL" 

You upload a picture onto the chatroom. It's all classified anyway, not like you have to worry about the cops seeing it. It's you leaning against your wonderful piece of shit car, right after winning a race for the first time. 

707: "What"  
707: "who races in a toyota"  
Yu: "what were you imagining? I can't afford cars like yours"  
Yu: "Why do you think I want to go for a ride in them so badly???" 

The conversation continues for a while. From cars to cats. From cats to his maid, after you suggest he just adopt his own cat. That poor cat... no... wouldn't it be better if you did it? You get distracted for a few minutes thinking about showing up to the party in cat ears. Should you make it a cat themed party? Zen would kill you... When you come back to reality, Seven is explaining he can't adopt a cat because of his maid. 

A maid and sports cars??? How lux... 

Oh, a picture of... 

... 

Pardon, you have a bit of a nosebleed. 

That's not a picture of his maid... that's a picture of Seven in a maid costume... with beautiful, long red hair that you very much want to bury your hands in. 

Critical hit! 

Super effective! 

Oh man, oh god. That's cheating! That's absolutely cheating! H-how can he wear something like that?! How can he look so good in it?!? Why does he have a picture of himself in a maid costume? Why is it so dynamic??? You have questions! And mental images you don’t know what to do with! 

God won't be able to forgive your dreams tonight... Well, that's okay. You're an agent of the devil already anyway. 

707: "So hungry..."  
707: "I skipped my meals yesterday..."  
Yu: "Do you mean today?"  
707: "I just woke up"  
Yu: "..."  
Yu: "I can't say anything... but you should eat!"  
707: "Honey buddha chips!"  
Yu: "That's not lunch!"  
707: "Sure it is"  
Yu: "I made soondubu jigae"  
Yu: "Want some? ;)"  
  
707: "No one can go to the apartment"  
Yu: "You know where it is though~"  
707: "All I need are honey buddha chips!"  
Yu: "I'm marinating beef for bulgogi rn"  
707: "HONEY"  
707: "BUDDHA"  
707: "CHIPS"  
Yu: "Jumin gave me so much money~ I got delicious sirloin~"  
  
Yu: "oh"  
Yu: "enjoy those chips tho"  
707: "I WILL"

* * *

Even when you're not chatting with Seven in a chatroom, the two of you are texting each other... Ahahaha, well, at least then you can do work in between messages. And it's more private, not that he's really taking advantage of that, of course. 

Does Seven really have a maid...? The picture was of him. 

... 

Why does he have a picture of himself in a maid costume anyway... 

Just thinking about it makes you feel like you need to visit church. And apparently you're not the only one... Zen comments on it, too, though he missed the part where it was actually Seven. His reaction when you pointed out was fucking PRICELESS. 

Yu: “Now I know your taste lololololol”  
Zen: “Aaaaargh!”  
Zen: “Don't say that”  
Zen: “My taste is very innocent and pretty;;”  
Jaehee: “You've discovered the power of makeup”  
Yu: “lolololololol you're saying Seven is innocent and pretty”  
Zen: “NO”  
-Jumin Han has entered the chatroom-  
Jumin: “?”  
Yu: “It's Jumin Han!!! The handsome man in a suit!!!”  
Jumin: “...”  
Jumin: “I feel like you are starting to resemble someone.”  
Jaehee: “...Do you mean Seven?”  
Zen: “lololol So what?”  
Zen: “she's cute lol~”  
Yu: “so you think seven is innocent and pretty and that i'm cute the more i'm like him...”  
Yu: “+_+”  
Zen: “STOP” 

Of course, the two get distracted fighting with each other before long. They're like opposites... or an old married couple, or cats and dogs, or some other metaphor. But old married couple... and opposites attract. And Zen does think a man in a maid costume is attractive, hahaha. 

...Hmm. 

Actually, there's some potential there. A top businessman and a rising actor. A forbidden, secret romance. A man who wants to live his life in the spotlight and a man who must maintain a conservative public image. Star-crossed lovers... 

It'd make a great new OC series! Everyone's always on you to write more m/m stuff. Your preference is m/f or f/f, but the m/m gets the views in a huge way. If you write it, it'll be popular. And it'll be easier if you have character studies right in front of you. You should seriously consider it, maybe try to outline a vague plotline. It's not like Zen or Jumin are ever gonna find out~ Unless they spend a lot of time looking at gay erotica, in which case they don't get to be mad about it.

* * *

You're hard at work when Seven calls. You'd just turned down a group suggested to the party for the first time... Yoosung had suggested inviting a group of "Forever Alones." You felt bad for turning him down when you'd said yes to everyone else's suggestions so far, but... seriously... Your job IS supposed to be deciding who's a good fit and who's not. And you're trying to throw a good party here! You don't want a bunch of "incels" to come and harass the women... No way. 

But you felt so bad that now you're working extra hard. You're alternating between party work and real work... whenever you get burned out on one, you switch to the other. You're getting exhausted, though. It's already almost seven... 

Seven. 

Haha, Seven calls at seven PM. Had he done it on purpose? You answer cheerfully, but are surprised to hear someone talking more like Jumin on the other line. It's clearly not his actual voice, though. Jumin's voice is lower and quieter. Still, the imitation is really good, haha. You'd rather talk to Seven, though. 

And talk to Seven you do. You get the feeling he's working while talking to you, and you're working while talking to him... It's probably not terribly efficient, but whatever. It's a nice feeling. 

He talks a little bit, just a little bit, about his work. You listen carefully. He doesn't let a lot slip about his job, but everything you hear worries you. Is he really, like... a secret agent...? Hadn't Jaehee said he works for a "foreign intelligence agency"? Does he work for something like the NIS or the DIA? You'd think that work would be fairly above the board... right? He doesn't work for a FOREIGN foreign intelligence agency, right...? 

He's probably exaggerating when he talks about winding up dead, but... 

He doesn't sound a lot like he's exaggerating, and he changes the subject quickly. 

You wind up reading up on the NIS after the two of you hang up, even though you don't have any evidence that's what he actually does. The DIA and DIC too... you're going to get on a watchlist with searches like this, though, ahaha... 

It's probably really stupid of you to worry. He's been doing this work for years, right? If he's a hacker spy for the government or whatever... He's obviously got it under control. It's hard to believe that sort of thing could be true, but since everyone else in the group acts like it's normal, it probably is. 

A secret spy, huh... Like a James Bond movie? 

...Oh, actually, that gives you an idea for work.

* * *

Agent 707, known mostly as Seven to his friends--all five of them--should be working. He isn’t, though. Not technically. His research on the new member was as completed as it needed to be. But he’s naturally curious, and he’s definitely getting a lot more curious where _she_ is concerned. 

She’s weird. Fun weird! But it does make him want to know more about her. And when she says stuff like "it's a secret lol," obviously he’s going to look into what she did for a living! C'mon! You can't say that stuff to a hacker and not expect that! 

What he'd found was an incognito account filled with written erotica. 

Nnnnnnot what he'd been expecting. 

He'd, uh.... perused. She was a good writer! Both in terms of technical skill and in terms of creativity when describing any number of increasingly lurid sexual acts. Which is when he'd stopped reading... As far as the official report was concerned, anyway. 

Hey, any good Catholic knew that activities at night didn't count...! 

But now he’s run up against a paywall. No surprise... she had to get a living somehow, right? And according to her page, she's JUST posted a brand new short piece, "subscribers only~ ;)". 

... 

Well, why even have disposable income if he not to blow it on stuff like this? She isn't the only one with dummy accounts, and pretty soon, "Kim Ji-Hoon" is all signed up for a regular dose of written pornography. 

Wow. 

She has a serious backlog in here... 

...He could sort by FETISH?! 

God... He’s gonna need a confessional after this, hahaha. 

Oh! There it is, the new piece. What’s she writing when she should be busy with planning the party, hmm? 

Seven clicks and leans back in his chair, grabbing a fresh can of Dr. Pepper. He pauses long enough to let his eyes trace over the guy he’s supposed to be watching. Still awake. Three in the morning! When does this guy even go to bed...? Good boys and girls should be asleep at this hour! Guh. Well, whatever. He glances back over to his primary monitor to read-- 

"The Real James Bond -- The Exploits of Secret Agent 777" 

Seven chokes, sending a spray of Dr. Pepper onto the screen. 

NO WAY. It COULDN'T be. 

"I knew I shouldn't have done it... I knew it was the wrong thing. But the temptation of a dangerous man was too strong, and Agent 777 was too sensual. I didn't care about the risks. I wanted to live the here and now... too bad I lived to see the consequences. Would 70 kilos of rippling muscle be worth the price of admission? Only time would tell, but I sure thought so when I was making the first down payment--down on him, that is." 

....oh sweet merciful God, it is.

* * *

You're intending to ignore the messenger for the evening and get some real work done, but of course that fails instantly when you see Seven log on. You're in the chatroom in a flash. You're hoping to continue parts of the phone conversation from earlier, but before you can, Jumin logs on. And both you and Seven get distracted by tormenting him about past and possible-future girlfriends. Or boyfriends! 

You should probably be nice to Jumin, considering he just handed you a huge stack of cash, but you can't help teaming up on him with Seven--now there's a mental image. You can't help it. Jumin isn't easy to tease, but Seven is showing you just how to manage it. Jumin and Zen... those two guys really are sensitive about their sexuality! They should be more like Seven! 

You say that, but the second you ask Seven about HIS past girlfriends, he runs out just as fast as Jumin had! 

...is HE gay...? 

Crap. 

You ask Zen when he logs on, since Zen is of the firm opinion (ha) that there's no way Jumin is gay. 

Zen: “???”  
Zen: "Are you just wondering about all the guys now?"  
Yu: "You said you were good at telling."  
Zen: "Don't worry about him. The only one you need to worry about is totally straight~"  
  
Yu: "You're not talking about yourself, are you?"  
Zen: "Of course!" 

You send the image of Seven in a maid costume again. 

Zen: "GAH!"  
Yu: "What was it you said?"  
Yu: "Pretty and innocent...?"  
Zen: "I was mislead!"  
Yu: "Totally straight tho..."  
Zen: "TOTALLY!!!"  
Yu: "lol"  
  
Yu: "seriously tho. has Seven ever mentioned a past gf?"  
Zen: "omg"  
Zen: "you're really focused on this"  
Yu: "I'm curious!"  
Zen: "It's hard to tell anything serious with Seven. I don't think he's gay... though... he does apparently like women's clothing, so who knows..."  
Yu: T_T  
Yu: "He looks so good in it..."  
Zen: "I'd rather see you in the maid costume~"  
Yu: "I'll tell you right now that Seven fills it out more than I would"  
Zen: "OMG!"  
Zen: "ladies shouldn't say stuff like that!"  
Yu: "lol"  
Yu: "are you thinking about my chest now? perv"  
  
Zen: "you JUST SAID--"  
Yu: "gosh, can an actor be like this to women?"  
Yu: "aren't you a public figure?"  
Zen: “T_T”  
Zen: "you're getting to be as bad as him"  
Yu: "oh~ a compliment~"  
Zen: "..."  
Zen: "that definitely wasn't a compliment..."

* * *

You manage to get a short story up and finish a rough first draft concept for your businessman/actor idea. Super productive day! Emails were starting to come in regarding the party, too, even though a date hasn't been set. You're doing your best there, too, and you feel like you've finally got a good grip on what the last two parties were like. You even spoke to Jaehee a bit about the theme. She immediately shot down your cat idea before the "C" had even finished leaving your mouth, but you'd settled on the theme "a lady in red" for an elegant, beautiful party. It's a good concept. She's going to run it by Jumin; she knows how to sell him on things best. 

One thing Zen said is sticking with you, though... 

Lamb kebabs. 

You're really hungry! Your beef needs to marinate overnight, though, and you don't feel like cooking anything this late. You glance at the clock. Almost ten pm already... but something's probably open, right? You should walk around the neighborhood a bit. 

Pfff, you bet every single person in the RFA would tell you not to do that. Sucks to be them, they're not here! You grab one of the 50,000 notes from the envelope, which you've hidden super thoroughly despite the fact this apartment is probably the most secure apartment in the building. 

The neighborhood seems pretty good, anyway. You don't find lamb kebobs, but against all odds, there's a tiny kalguksu place still open. In you go! City living sure is nice... 

Realizing you have to break a 50,000 won note, you decide to order the most expensive thing on the menu. Of course, ordering 'the most expensive kalguksu' is kind of an oxymoron, pfff. It's really not that expensive...You'll have to remember this is here. There's a corner store nearby, too. 

You do a bit of work on your phone while slurping down noodles. Life is pretty good right now, huh? Eating whatever you want on another man's coin, talking to cute guys all day... This party could really be the best thing that's ever happened to you! Whoever that Unknown guy was, you could kiss him. So long as you're not actually part of nefarious plot or whatever.

* * *

Jaehee: there are a countless number of women  
Jaehee: **who approach Mr. han regardless of his feelings.**  
Yoosung★: OMG  
Yoosung★: **Is he sick of women?**  
Jaehee: I think he has just mastered it.  
Yoosung★: Mastered?  
  
Jaehee: Yes.  
Jaehee: On business, he uses his eloquence and charms  
Jaehee: to coax women  
Jaehee: to make them sign contracts

...Wait... 

Jaehee: I do not wish to admit it,  
Jaehee: but he is naturally talented  
Jaehee: and knows how to use his looks,  
Jaehee: so you can imagine how good the effect is. 

You glare sullenly at the black screen of your phone after you leave the chatroom, remembering a few choice moments from the last 48 hours. Particularly phrases like "good girl" and the loose praise he sprinkled on you when you expressed determination to work hard on the party. 

Your eyes trace over the desk, covered with scattered notes about past parties and sketched plans for the upcoming one. 

... 

That _bastard_...! 

He'd completely played you! Argh! You were totally manipulated! You hadn't even made it hard! He'd just said some nice things in that pretty voice of his and you'd folded like construction paper! Son of a bitch!! 

Argh! You're so mad. This always happens to you. Why are you so easy? You still have every intention to do well, because the pros outweigh any cons in a huge way... But you're seriously upset about this! You hadn’t given any serious consideration to the idea that he was playing you... Had you really thought a guy like that was just being nice?! What the hell is wrong with you? Can you even be mad at _him_ when the real problem here is that you're stupid? 

Ugh... Seven makes you feel clever, but Jumin definitely just reminded you that you're a complete moron. Is that seriously why he'd said all those nice things...? You feel a little hurt. You wouldn't mind if the money was a bribe, that's normal. But you'd actually been really flattered when he'd said your voice sounded nice, and stuff... What if all of that had just been flattery to get you to "sign the contract" so to speak? If the stick was his veiled threats, the carrot was his honeyed words! 

You roll over on the bed and bury your face in the pillow to muffle your angry screech. Jumin Han! You... Ugh! Jerk! You can't even ask... who'd tell you the truth in that kind of scenario? It's not like he's gotten a party out of you yet. You could still leave. Not that you would... everyone would be so sad. You couldn't do that to them. But he doesn't know that. 

...Fuck it! You're gonna call him...


	3. Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably it for me until a while after Christmas~ But Merry Christmas (Eve) everyone! I hope you all get a chance to enjoy that wonderful MysMe DLC. Can't believe it's only $3~ Do yourself a favor and get it if you haven't yet. It's fantastic. 
> 
> There's a bit of NSFW in this so don't read it in front of your family~ It's not too much, though. 
> 
> Thanks everyone so much for reading this. ^_^ After only a few days, it's already got almost 100 kudos! I hope you guys continue to enjoy!

That phone call... 

Had not worked. 

You'd started it wanting to demand answers, and ended it accepting a bunch of gift certificates that Jumin didn't want to use. 

... You're not even sure whether or not you'd been manipulated again. The actual discussion on that vein had been, essentially,  
"Hey, did you say nice things to me just so I would do what you wanted?"  
"I said nice things to you because they were true, and also you haven't done what I want completely yet."  
"That's not--"  
"Stop calling me after midnight. Also, what's a gift certificate." 

And you'd been so distracted explaining that... Then before you knew it, he was sending you his unused ones... What the heck. 

...You hope there are some Starbucks or Ediya ones. You subsist primarily off of coffee. 

Ugh... Thinking about it... You’ve been manipulated really easily again! God! How are you this easy? Is he that good, or are you just kind of an idiot?! How frustrating... The stupid, silly you was supposed to be just an act to make everyone accept you more quickly. You actually tend to think you’re pretty smart. But if you’re being honest with yourself, money and charismatic men are you two primary weaknesses, and Jumin Han is a combination of them wrapped up in a very nice suit. 

How lame... being manipulated by a guy like that isn’t cool at all. Every teacher you’ve ever had would definitely scold you. Especially Sister Agnes. Your mother would too, probably even moreso. The nuns (especially Sister Agnes) would scold you for sin, your mother with scold you for being a damn fool.

* * *

Jumin tells you to go to sleep around 3am when he sees you in chat... But you’d actually just woken up. You wonder what HE'S doing up, but don't really have time to ask. So you focus on work (and "work") for hours until you hear more action on the chatroom. 

Seven! You charge right in and start talking. As always, it feels like kicking down the door on a bright summer day. 

707: “even if we don't get to hold the party,”  
707: “it's enough for me to just chat with you like this!!!”  
707: “>_<”  
Yu: “Oh! I'm kinda flattered lol. But everyone's so excited about the party, so we can't let them down, haha.”  
707: “Oooh!”  
707: “That was so cool lol”  
707: “so responsible lol”  
707: “I almost fell for u?”  
Yu: “Almost?”  
707: “>_< lolololol”  
707: “Man~”  
707: “It's so fun talking to you! >.<”  
707: “Every time I log into the messenger,”  
707: “my heart races a bit.”  
707: “I wanna get to know u better”  
707: “lololol”  
Yu: “But don't you already know everything about me?”  
707: “Ya.”  
707: “...”  
707: “ **I mean, no. Nope.** "  
707: “...”  
707: “ **Gahh! Don't ask me things like that!** ”  
Yu: “lol” 

Man... You don't know what to do with Seven. You really don't! He's flirting, right? He's flirting... right? But is it just harmless stupidity, like with Zen? Probably! Hell, even yours seems like harmless stupidity. It's a secret from everyone that you're actually starting to get a crush... 

He says his heart races whenever he sees you on the messenger. You feel the same way, but... How serious is it? For either of you? Talking to him is so fun. You never want to stop. You feel warm and energized (and the more extreme versions: hot and hyper) a lot lately. But what does that mean, really? 

He said V had a good voice... his type. When you'd asked Jumin about V's voice, he'd described as "baritone." If baritone voices are Seven's type, doesn't that mean he's probably definitely gay? He could like both... but you've never actually met anyone else like that. You're kind of starting to think you're the only one, no matter _what_ the internet says. 

Or, alternatively, he could be joking about V being his type. It's so hard to tell! It'd probably be hard to get a straight answer out of him... and you wouldn't want him to feel like he had to be serious, anyway. You like him goofy... it's fun. It makes you feel like you can be goofy, too. You've been a lot more relaxed with the others since talking more and more with Seven. They've even commented on it! But it's... more fun. You like being able to have a good time like this. 

You read back over the chat you'd just had with him, trying to transcribe meaning into his words. He talks a lot about enjoying talking to you... Does that mean you're friends? Or that he likes you? He says he's curious about you... because he's a naturally curious person? Or because he's interested? 

Ugh! You're gonna go crazy like this! 

707: "U should eat good things. I'm already kinda ruined,"  
707: "but no need for u to go down the same path lol"  
Yu: "lol"  
707: "I recommend snacks to people like me and Yoosung"  
707: "who are stupid or lost or have no reason to live, lol"  
Yu: "dark humor?"  
Yu: "that's my type~" 

You'd played it off as a joke, but ahaha... he must NOT know very much about you. Stupid, lost, with no reason to live? He'd basically summed up your entire existence... hahaha... 

... you suppose you should buy some chips, then.

* * *

"Beep beep beep. You have one percent battery life left. Beep beep beep." 

You'd been a bit surprised when Seven picked up. He didn't often, presumably because he's a busy guy with a weird sleep schedule... when he sleeps at all. Not that you can afford to throw stones. 

"...Plug into the wall! Charge!" you exclaim quickly. 

"Beep beep beep... Error. Charging disabled. Charging disabled," Seven intones tiredly. "...I really wish I could just recharge myself like a battery. I have an electric car... I wish I could run like that. Just plug myself into the wall and keep working." 

Yeah, you know that feeling... 

"I...I have so much work... it's endless..." 

You know that feeling too. 

"Seven! You're an energizer! You always give me energy; you’re the source of energy, like the sun! Cheer up!" you encourage him as best you can. He really does seem exhausted, though. 

"I don't have any energy left in me... I have the cape.... I have the mask... but no energy... ...I'm sorry. I can't even joke around properly right now. I'm done for!" 

There's a long sigh over the phone. It feels a bit like he's breathing into your ear, but you think it's probably wrong to enjoy something like that when he's obviously suffering. 

"Hmm... But I feel more awake now after hearing you on the phone. I seriously had to tape my eyelids to keep them open just now... Talking to you makes me feel better. Do you just wanna keep on talking while I'm listening? I can just recharge myself while hearing you talk and keep working." 

"Sure!" you say cheerfully. 

"Huh? I was half joking..." 

"I talk out loud while I'm working anyway. How about a story?" 

"A story _you're_ writing?" he asks, and the alarm in his voice informs you without a doubt that he does, in fact, know what you do for a living. 

"I write normal stuff!" you protest. 

"Super normal, yeah, natural part of the human condition--" 

"Shush! I mean it! This one's about a... cat... with a terrible secret. She wants to tell the other cat, who she's coming to like, but she's scared that if she does, he'll reject her or spill her secret. If he does, she might even die..." 

"A cat?" 

"It's a cat if I say it is! Just work and listen, gosh..." 

\--

"Ugh! Why won't she just TELL him!?" Seven exclaims over the tapping of his fingers on the keyboard. "It's so obvious that Simbas will understand!" 

"Yeah, why WON'T the secretive one tell all their secrets to someone who is receptive and kind?" you say dryly. 

"My job is easier when they do." 

"Ember is nothing if not a difficult cat. Plus, the name of the story is literally ‘Secret Keeping’ so... Do you want me to keep going?" 

"Ugh... yes, but I should probably let you go. My neck is getting sore from holding the phone like this." 

"I'm not on speaker phone?" 

"No, I wanted to hear you right in my ea--erm, I mean, it's better not to use speakerphone! Anyone can overhear then!" 

"Aren't you at home...? Who'd overhear?" 

"Then, I'm diving back into the world of darkness! Bye!"

* * *

Bulgolgi for dinner~ You're gonna have bulgolgi for dinner~~~ With such high quality ingredients! You fire off a text and a picture of your ongoing preparations to Jumin. 

Yu: “Your money being put to good use~” 

He doesn't reply right away, but you see something else... someone's logged on! Ah! It's Seven! The bulgolgi can wait. You practically charge into the chatroom. 

707: “Heya >_<”  
707: “Did u have lunch, Yu?”  
Yu: “Not yet~ I'm saving up for a big dinner!” 

You post the picture you just took into the chatroom. 

707: “Ooooh~”  
707: “You shouldn't skip meals though!”  
707: “You should at least have a light lunch~”  
Yu: “Have you eaten?”  
707: “...No.”  
707: “But I will!”  
Yu: “Honey Buddha chips don't count!”  
  
707: “Yes they do!”  
707: “We can't all be Jumin”  
707: “dining luxuriously”  
707: “slicing his prime steak”  
Yu: “We could slice honey buddha chips?”  
707: “Yes!”  
707: “lolololol”  
707: “We'll use a spoon to eat all the”  
707: “smashed Honey Buddha chips”  
707: “and Dr. Pepper for dessert lol”  
-Jumin Han has entered the chatroom-  
Jumin: “So bored.”  
Yu: “Jumin! Lunch over?”  
Jumin: “No. I'm just sitting here.”  
Jumin: “I got your picture.” 

Then he sends a picture of his own. You squint, then zoom in on the picture. Oh, geez, that's a steak. Like a huge steak. You couldn’t quite tell right away, because the picture is so blurry... 

Yu: “It's a steak... right? lol”  
707: “I think it's a brick.”  
Yu: “Is that what the wealthy eat?”  
Yu: “Jumin, you should just have Honey Buddha chips instead.”  
Jumin: “..”.  
Yu: “Seven can give you some.”  
707: “Honey Buddha chips to the rescue!!”  
707: “One box!”  
707: “Two boxes!”  
707: “Three boxes!”  
Jumin: “ **Shut up.** ”  
707: “...”  
Yu: “That was weirdly charismatic.”  
707: “You need to get your taste checked lol”  
Yu: “There's no helping that.”  
Yu: “So, Jumin, how was the brick? Was it good?”  
Jumin: “It's a steak.”  
Jumin: “I thought commoners ate this too.”  
Yu: “A stake? It looks like brick, not wood, right...?”  
Jumin: “...”  
707: “lololol”  
Jumin: “Use some of that money to buy glasses.”  
Yu: T_T  
Yu: “So cold~”  
Yu: “I felt a chilly breeze”  
707: “Ice king Jumin”  
Yu: “Wait, no”  
Yu: “I left the window open lol~”  
Yu: “Anyway, is the problem with my glasses?”  
Yu: “I thought it was just a bad photo~”  
Jumin: “If you are not happy with my photo, I will say this.”  
Jumin: “ **A photo should be taken by a photographer.** ”  
Jumin: “which I am not”  
707: “...”  
707: “SO TRUE!!” 

The conversation continues, primarily just with you and Seven tormenting Jumin, though you do listen to what he's saying. He's clearly not having a fun dinner with his dad... you feel kind of bad. 

Yu: “That sounds pretty uncomfortable...”  
Yu: “Can you even enjoy a steak in a situation like that?”  
707: “I could probably manage.”  
Jumin: “It is uncomfortable.”  
Jumin: “I'd like to get back to the office as soon as possible.”  
707: “Finish the steak first.”  
Jumin: “I did taste it, but i've lost my appetite.”  
Yu: “Send me leftovers.”  
Jumin: “I don't know where the apartment is. Besides, a steak should be eaten fresh.”  
Yu: “I'm not picky.”  
707: “ya”  
707: “from what I **read** ”  
Yu: “shut up”  
707: “don't you approve of reading”  
Jumin: “?”  
Jumin: “Oh.”  
Jumin: “Do you or Luciel watch TV often?”  
Yu: “Online, yeah.”  
Jumin: “Do either of you know the TV show ‘MasterChef’?”  
Yu: “OH MY GOD YES”  
Yu: “I LOVE GORDON RAMSEY OMG”  
Jumin: “...Now I know your taste in men.”  
Yu: “what no”  
707: “lololol”  
707: “The mysterious Yu's tastes, finally revealed”  
Yu: “no”  
Yu: “I only date redheads”  
  
Yu: “Anyway, what about MasterChef, Jumin?”  
Jumin: “Apparently the chef here was on that show”  
707:” OMG”  
Yu: “OMG”  
707: “Which season?”  
Jumin: “I don't know that.”  
707: “No way”  
Yu: “A winner??? Or just a contestant? omg”  
707: “Can it be Melanie? Who made the pumpkin cake from her mother's recipe?”  
Yu: “Yeah! Isn't she in Korea right now??”  
707: “That would be so awesome!!”  
707: “Chef Ramsay praised her”  
707: “Not just for the pumpkin cake”  
707: “but also her steak and said”  
707: “it was perfectly grilled and had the taste of heaven!”  
Yu: “Gosh~ I want to eat a perfectly grilled steak too!”  
Jumin: “We can come together if we get the chance.”  
707: “Doesn't she only eat steak with redheads too? lol”  
Yu: “ **I'll make an exception.** ”  
707: “so fickle!”  
Jumin: “Anyways,”  
Jumin: “So chef Ramsay was famous”  
Jumin: “I saw him frequently at the french restaurant I often went to during business trips.”  
  
Yu: “are you kidding me T___T”  
707: “Dude”  
Yu: “I'm gonna cry omg”  
Jumin: “If he's that great, then we should invite him to the party.”  
Jumin: “I have his business card.”  
707: “OH MY GOD”  
Yu: “OMG”  
707: “Oh my dear God of cats”  
Yu: “more like God of steaks”  
707: “I will always be your humble servant! T_T”  
Jumin: “...  
Yu: “We have to invite him!! I'll use all my charms!! I'll make sure he comes, so get him to email me!!!”  
Jumin: “Alright.” 

Holy fuck. 

You're gonna get to meet Gordon fuckin' Ramsay.

* * *

Life is beginning to take on a pattern, sort of. Your sleep schedule still isn't so much a schedule as a disorganized mish-mash of ever-interrupted naps, but when you're awake, things are taking on some regularity. There's a corner store and restaurants nearby, and you can cook here in the apartment, too. With so much money, you're having a blast with food. You _never_ eat three meals a day, but you'd squeeze four in now, if you could. 

You're gonna have bulgolgi tonight~ It's gonna taste so good~~~ You'd bought really good beef for it! Ah, you wish you could give some to Seven, though. He's really gonna get sick, eating chips all the time. Well... up until today, you lived that way too, so you can't say much. But still! You lived that way because you were broke and depressed! Seven has money, so he should live better. He hired a maid--a British maid named Vanderwood, supposedly--so he should hire you on as a chef! Aaah... now that's a nice thought... You're not good enough to be a professional chef though, hahaha. 

"Don't stop us now~ the moment of truth~" 

The intro song from your favorite anime begins to play from your phone on the desk. You're amazed you even left it behind; you've been glued to it for 3 days. You drop what you're doing and sprint over to see who's calling. 

SEVEN! 

You nearly drop the phone in your eagerness to answer. 

"Meow~ Meooooow~" 

Of course he calls to meow, ahahahaha. 

"I just had a really strange dream where I was a cat, meow~ But mommy cat didn't give me food so brother kittie and I escaped. We passed through walls, rivers, mountains, oceans, and then landed in a pirate ship! That's when I woke up meow~" 

"Sounds like you've been reading too much of my garbage before going to sleep." 

"I-I haven't been reading any of it, meow!" 

"...You know I write stuff other than--" 

"MEOW~ When I woke up my hands were still curled meow~" 

You snort. He's really cute when he gets a bit flustered, huh... Well, even if he read some of your public stuff, you're not too worried. Embarrassed, yeah, but all the really weird stuff is behind a paywall. Not like he's going to drop 30,000 won just to see it... 

"Are you still a cat? I bet you're a cute cat, Seven~ Should I pet you, meow~?" 

"Oh~ You want to pet me? But wouldn't you make a much cuter cat?" 

"Probably," you agree. "Even cuter than Elizabeth the 3rd. And then you could keep me around, meow~" 

"W... Vanderwood would be so mad. I can't pay her more, I'll go broke!" 

"I'd be a self-cleaning cat! Clean up my own fur, then your maid could be happy too, meow~" 

"Cat's are already self-cleaning; they lick themselves--" 

You pause. "...Licking myself... So that's the way your tastes are... I've learned something new today..." 

"Wuh--Ah! Work just came in! Work and more work! Now that my hands have uncurled, I should defeat this villain called work once and for all!"

* * *

"Seven~ How's work coming?" 

"Uuuuugh," comes a groan from down the hallway. "Never ending." 

"Why not take a break? I made hotteok!" 

"Urgh... that's cheating. You know I'm busy!" 

"You don't want them while they're still hot?" you call out, putting a few more on the platter and then beginning to carry it down the hallway towards Seven's workspace. "They're not as good cold~" 

There's no response, so you open the door to his office and go in... but he's not sitting at his desk. "...eh? Did he go to the bathroom?" you wonder out loud, walking in further past the door and looking around. 

Arms wrap around your waist from behind, making you squeak in shock and jump, jostling the hotteok on the plate. Seven pulls you back against his chest, burying his face against your hair. 

"Mmm~ I smell something sweet," he murmurs near your ear. 

"T-that's the hotteok!" you exclaim, holding up the plate. 

"Are you sure...? I think I've found something sweeter." 

What's he found is your ear, which he nuzzles against, sending a little shiver down your spine. 

~Meow~!~Meow~!~Meow~!~

"Ah... Seven, your alarm is going off," you exclaim shakily. "Isn't that important?" 

"Cats meowing normally mean something important," Seven agrees with a sigh, which heats against your ear. "But I've got my kitten right here... And I sort of want to... hear her purr?" 

Oh man these hotteok are definitely gonna get cold at this rate. 

"Y-you have to eat something, Seven!" 

"I'm seriously considering it." 

"And hotteok are better hot!" 

"So are a lot of things." 

"A-aah~ That tickles!" 

"Just tickles? I must be doing it wrong." 

"Ah! S-Seven!" 

"That's good, be vocal," he murmurs against your neck. "I need feedback, or I'll never get any better." 

\--BEEP~ BEEP~ BEEP~-- 

The sound of the alarm jolts you out of your reverie. You glare at it angrily, cheeks flushed. The phone continues to beep, pointedly. You grab it with a sigh. You’d gotten so distracted thanks to Zen’s stupid comment... 

"Seven... I think he needs someone by his side to take care of him." 

...Why'd you have to say something like that, Zen?! Argh! All these thoughts won't get out of your head now!

* * *

Maybe it's silly, but you actually are kind of worried about Seven. He's ALWAYS working... isn't he tired? And he doesn't eat properly... 

Well, it feels kind of bad to try and lecture him when even right now, you're narrating emails to guests on your phone while cooking. But! At least you're cooking real food and not just eating chips! You'd be happy even if he got take-out. But maybe his location is secret? If he's hacking there, he can't really just have a delivery guy come, can he? 

Ugh... if your location weren't secret, and people weren't forbidden from meeting you for some dumb reason... You could have him over, and he could eat this bulgolgi with you. It's gonna be too much for one person anyway! It's hard to cook small servings! 

Yoosung is worrying too, though not about Seven. He's worried about the party. You guess he knows more than you do, but is it really necessary to have a solid date for the party so soon...? But then, people are talking like it might wind up being pretty soon. How long will it take to put together a party like this, even one on the smaller side? There are really important people coming, so... like, what, a month? 

It's kind of uncomfortable to think about living here for a whole month, but whatever. It'll become comfortable if you stay for that long. It's only been three days. You'll get used to it... It's a smaller space than your actual home, but you don't actually need much space, and since your computer isn't even here and you're just using your phone and tablet... 

Well, minimalist living has its benefits. Anyway, you might need to pick some stuff up from home if you'll be here for a really long time, but you can figure that out after the party date gets set. You're not too worried. It's not that you trust V... It's just that you don't see any reason why he'd run off like Yoosung is worried about. He's the one who insisted you join and hold a party in the first place! It was his idea! Why would he run off? 

You can appreciate Yoosung worrying for you, but really, you think it'll be fine. You'll get the hang of this party stuff. You don't like admitting this, because it makes you sound narcissistic, but you're actually pretty smart. Once you apply yourself to something, you're invariably good at it. Your problem isn't that you _can't_ do something, it's that you tend to lose interest or get distracted. 

You've never really actually run into something that you can’t do. Just stuff you don't care to do. It sounds arrogant so you never express it out loud, but... If you put all your energy into being a party planner, you're pretty sure you'll be good. Maybe not as good as Rika, but even with just the guests you've communicated with so far... You're doing pretty well. You're worried, but not TOO worried. Everyone's helping. With all these incredible people working on it, can it really go badly?

* * *

Your mind has a tendency to Go Places with simple statements. It's happened several times with Seven already. And as much as you'd enjoyed hearing his story--how much of it was even true?--and more about his life... Your mind was stuck on the part where “God Seven” had called you his “disciple.” 

You can't help it! You were raised Catholic. Anyone raised Catholic winds up with... tastes... in certain... areas. You’re pretty sure it happens to everyone. It comes from trying to focus on the church instead of your surging hormones during puberty, probably. 

You wonder if Seven would be into roleplay. He seems the type, doesn't he...? And he's got a maid costume, at the very least. Maybe he's got other stuff, too... You really wouldn't mind-- 

Augh! You have to get your head out of the garbage! 

"I met this guy three days ago! Online! What is **wrong** with me?!" you wail out loud, flopping about frustratedly in your bed. It's not even eight, but you're really tired. You blame all the food you crammed into your mouth, and also the fact that you can't even fully remember what day it is or how much you've slept. Whenever you nod off, something wakes you up and you get distracted working or talking to someone again. 

It's a good problem to have, but it's leaving you a bit disoriented. 

And also, your libido is taking advantage of your weakness to provide "helpful" images like Seven on some ridiculous, elaborate throne--where would you even find one?--while you creatively reinterpret the term "holy worship." 

...Ah... that's a good scenario, actually... Can you work that into something...? You grab your tablet and open up your drabble notes. Throne fetish is definitely a thing. Which character would it most suit? If your mind is going to be so perverted, you should at least channel it into something that other people can enjoy... and pay you for. 

At this rate you're going to have to wind up paying Seven royalties...

* * *

V... is a weird one, isn't he...? 

You always feel a sort of quiet melancholy in the air when he's around... or is it just you? He seems very soft-spoken, even through a messenger. You're sure he's working hard on the party... it must be a lot to set up. You wish he'd talk with you more directly, though, but you suppose he's kind of higher up on the food chain, even in such a small organization. As long as he's talking to Seven and Jumin, and they're talking to you... or... no... isn't it more like V talks to Jumin and Jumin talks to Jaehee and Jaehee talks to you? You're pretty far down the chain, hahaha... 

Well, whatever! As long as you can do your job well, it doesn't matter! You just need to focus on the guests. The rest is up to everyone else. You have an important part, but it is JUST a part. There's a lot else that goes into a party! You're really glad you don't have to worry about it all. 

Anyway, maybe V showing up will calm Yoosung down some. They have history, or whatever, but hopefully they can get along for the party. You want everything to be perfect! It's weird how invested you've gotten over just a few days, but you're already getting kind of excited for it. This is a really good opportunity, though, so it's good that you're feeling so into it. 

Urgh... you're tired. It's only like eight, but fuck it... You're gonna take a nap... 

\--

"We! Were! Born to make history!" 

You grope blindly for your phone, still have asleep, and answer and hold it to your face. 

"Y-yeah?" you say, voice still sleepy. 

"Yu?" 

"Seven!" you say, instantly awake. Twice in one day! You hadn't been expecting a call! 

"I just tried to remember your voice while working and I couldn't. It was super weird since I have such good memory, so I called you." 

Well that's the weirdest reason you've ever been called, but okay, you're not gonna complain. 

"Do you need me to say some sentences that have all the sounds...? The quick brown fox jumped over a lazy dog?" you suggest. 

"Ha! No... It's back in my brain now that I've heard it... Why couldn't I remember it before...? But... I didn't interrupt your sleep, did I? You sound kind of sleepy." 

"Yeah, you woke me up," you say through half a yawn, groping for your glasses. "You're responsible now." 

"R-responsible?" 

"Are you not the kind of guy who takes responsibility? What am I gonna tell my mom, huh?" 

"Wh-what am I gonna do? Oh no! I just woke you up. I didn't sleep with you!" He coughs, which turns into a bit of a laugh. "God, that was really R-rated... But if you want me to be responsible, then I will." 

"Oh?" 

"But you'll have to fill out the form beforehand. Your birthday, height, weight, facebook address, number of Twitter accounts..." 

"Oh, you need my information?" you ask dryly. "Of course. My name is Yu, and my three sizes are--" 

"Y-yu!" Seven exclaims. "I-I didn't ask that! There's nothing I can with that information so stop! L-let's just stop there!" 

"Does that mean you don't actually already know my sizes? I thought you said you knew my cup size?" 

"I was obviously joking!" 

"It's th--" 

"Don't tell people that! God... You're kind of weird, Yu. ...People say I'm weird too, so you might be a really fun person. ...But seriously. Guh! I got kind of excited there." 

Oh DID he? Well that's good for you, since a healthy interest in breasts is... well, it theoretically means he could like you, anyway. You rather sadly place a hand on your chest. Theoretically... 

"So you just called me to hear my voice and find out my bra size?" 

"I didn't call for that!" 

"Ah, yeah, I guess you wouldn't have to ask... you could just find out." 

"Just because that's true doesn't mean you should say it." 

"...Wait, could you actu--" 

"So, something really strange happened when I was calling you. My hands were just pressing your number automatically... It was almost like a trance. I woke up when I heard the signal and thought about hanging up, but I'm glad I didn't." 

"Th... that's... Well..." Three seconds ago you had him on the ropes, what happened? "...I'm glad you didn't, either. I like talking to you." 

"Heh... hearing your voice makes me want to take you to the space station." ...Is that... a euphemism for something...? Seven breaks into nervous laughter, which doesn't help it not sound like a euphemism. "O-oh, I have lots of work to do so have to hang up! U-uh... Thanks for talking with me. Then, good bye! Good night!" 

Click. 

... 

"Alright, I need to google 'take you to the space station'..."

* * *

Seven interrupted your sleep and you'd been unable to find any slang terms related to space stations... But the search had woken you the rest of the way up, so even though it's late at night, you decide to do some work. You stop in at the nearby convenience store before they close and pick up a few bits of junk food, too. Hey, you can't JUST eat delicious home cooked meals. You need your daily intake of absolute garbage. 

When you get back to the apartment and check your phone, you notice that Seven's online. You JUST talked to him, so it wouldn't be bad to let him have some peace and... YEAH RIGHT. 

707: “Hiya Yu!”  
707: “Hey hey!”  
Yu: “Hey hey hey!”  
707: “lololol”  
707: “How do we get along so well?”  
707: “Usually ppl just ignore me”  
707: “The world is beautiful”  
707: “To still have ppl like u here... ^^”

...GOSH! Man, what do you even say to that?! Fortunately, the conversation continues on, so you don't have to form a cohesive reply to such a compliment. 

707: Do u have any childhood friends? 

...He'd asked you a complicated question without even realizing it... Why can’t anything in your life be simple? 

Yu: “I do.”  
707: “Ooooh! What's the friend like?”  
Yu: “I guess he's just a normal guy? We have a lot of history together.”  
Yu: “We didn't talk for years and years, but when we reconnected, we still knew everything about each other. It's like we were never apart at all. And now we know everything about each other's whole life, as if we're each other's diaries.”  
707: “oh...”  
707: “That's kind of what I do, lolol”  
707: “So does that make me your childhood friend?” 

You kinda hope not, considering the kind of history you have with your friend, but you're not gonna say that. 

Yu: “>_<! BFFs! I'm BFFs with Seven now! >_<”  
707: “>_<”  
707: “I have a BFF now!”  
  
707: “I am a bit jealous...”  
707: “V can nag Jumin like that.”  
707: “I guess only childhood friends can do that!”  
Yu: “Should I start nagging you, Seven? lol”  
707: “lolololol”  
707: “So happy lolol”  
707: “Of course, the important thing about childhood friends is that they grew up together”  
707: “But even if we grew up in different environments”  
707: “I'll totally listen to all of ur nagging”  
Yu: “Then eat real food and take a nap”  
707: “... So Jumin and V”  
Yu: “ **Don't ignore my nagging** ”  
Yu: -_-  
Yu: “But, Seven, don't you have any childhood friends?”  
707: “Me?”  
707: “U wanna know about my past?”  
Yu: “Of course!”  
707: “Hahaha...”  
707: “U dare to uncover the past of a dangerous man!”  
707: “This is my motto!”  
707: “Don't ask about the past of cats and hackers.”  
707: “^^”  
Yu: “That's a weird motto, but ok.”  
707: “Thanks for asking anyway, haha”  
707: “Maybe some day”  
707: “I'll find someone like me?”  
Yu: “Yeah... Maybe that person is even already nearby?///” 

You immediately have regrets. 

707: “Where?”  
707: “I just glanced at my side...”  
707: “But all I see is Honey Buddha chips”  
707: “Is this my fate...?” 

...Never mind... He's got that swerve down to an art. Ouch, haha. Well, at least you can talk with him like normal. You even post a picture of the snacks you'd picked up. 

707: “U can't eat chips all day like me!”  
707: “Eat all the nutrients and a lot of greens”  
Yu: ”I will if you will! Start taking care of yourself from now on~! I'd like to take care of you myself lol” 

Yeah, you'd actually had multiple extended fantasies about that. It had dominated your brain for like 60% of the day. 

707: “I wish you could!”  
707: “>_<” 

Oh god no don't AGREE, now you're gonna be thinking about it for another 24 hours... 

707: “Hahaha”  
707: “But u can be in danger if u get involved with me”  
707: “so I have no choice but to let u go” 

...Unexpectedly sad. He's probably just joking around, but still... That's a good line. You should put it in the next chapter of the secret agent ficlet you've been doing... 

The two of you chat for a bit longer before he has to get back to work. He tells you to sleep but... like... you're not gonna... You just woke up, hahaha. Nah. You'll get some more work done! You got all these snacks and caffeinated drinks! Power hour starts now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "gifticons" Jumin mentions in a certain outgoing call are a real thing, but they work similarly enough to gift certificates that I decided to change the name to avoid confusion for anyone who hasn't done that specific outgoing call. Similarly; Ediya is a very common Korean coffee chain... I added in Starbucks to make it more familiar to the presumably non-Korean readers of this fic. x'D 
> 
> For those of you who are new here (hi, oh my god? I somehow didn't think anyone but my existing fans would read this), the "story about the cats" Yu reads Seven is a reference to my own ongoing fic, Keeping Secrets. It's a in-joke for fans, so don't worry about it~


	4. Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna warn you straight up that there's porn in this. Like, a considerable amount of porn. >.>; Day 4 was a tough day ok. The sleep deprivation had set in. As I recall I powered through that day with two five hour energies, one right after another, then collapsed in my kitchen. And no, before you ask, I don't know how I survived this either. 
> 
> Also, since their relationship is beginning to take form in the story, I figured now was a good time to amuse/horrify you by posting [this playlist for the story](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLptxgy1f3MUtWZg01j-7CF3dbdvwbTfeK), featuring a bunch of the songs I listened to on repeat over and over and over and over again for over 250 hours while doing this to myself. 
> 
> Remembering Myself will probably make you cry if you've finished Seven's route. 
> 
> Light will hopefully make you cry after you've finished this story. 
> 
> At this point pretty much the entire last half of the playlist makes me cry, but that might be association with the goddamn trauma of writing this much in 10 days.
> 
> PS the reference to the "novel that should have been a play" is a reference to my own first completed novel, The Librarian, on sale precisely nowhere because I never published it and it's being reworked into another project. So don't think you're missing anything lol.

It's pretty late when you finally turn in for the night, but it's not past midnight, which means it actually feels like it's early. Still, you're damn exhausted, and there's not much happening... Sleeping now, at a normal time, would probably be the best possible thing, rather than pushing it til six AM and passing out at the desk again. 

You manage to curl up in what you're trying very hard to think of as "your" bed and not "Rika's" bed. It's a bit difficult when everyone keeps comparing the two of you, and when little haunting memories of her are still scattered around the apartment... Even if most of them are locked away. 

You should be falling asleep, but instead you're still fiddling with your phone. It's a curse... you've definitely slept less since you got a smartphone. Right now, though, you're idly looking at the single text message you got from Unknown. You'd texted back, but he never responded. Given the way Seven's locked down the messenger, the texts probably aren't even going anywhere. You'd tried calling, once, and it hadn't even rung... you'd just got a "this call cannot be completed as dialed" message. 

Yu: "Was this all part of your plan?" 

... 

Yu: "What even was your plan?" 

... 

You roll over in bed. 

... 

Yu: "I mean seriously. You were the least convincing person in all of Korea. I literally thought you were a serial killer." 

Yu: "...I guess you'd probably say, well, you went anyway! Yeah. But I went thinking you were a serial killer! Normal people wouldn't! You're really bad at this."  
Yu: "Was I the first one, or were there dozens of people earlier who downloaded that app? Did you scare them all off?"  
Yu: "Guess you had to find someone kinda crazy first."  
Yu: "...Are you stupid, or did you want to make sure you found someone stupid? I can see it going either way." 

You drop the phone down on the bed, thinking. Your mind feels a bit more organized after writing down your thoughts... Even if it was in text message form to a hacker that probably wasn't even getting them. It was kind of like a diary, only weirder. Like everything else in your life right now.

* * *

"Master Seven Zero Seven~ Master~ I've got your dinner!" you chirp cheerfully, pushing open the door to Seven's study. Seven's house looks suspiciously like Bruce Wayne's mansion. 

You're in your uniform, which is the exact same maid uniform you'd seen Seven in. It hadn't been easy, replacing Mary Vanderwood, but you'd won out because you would cook and didn't mind cats. And also you were cuter in the maid uniform. 

"Ah, Yu," Seven says, scooting back from his elaborate multi-monitor setup, worthy of any master spy slash secret agent slash hacker. "What have you brought me?" 

"Beef Wellington! I've been practicing, Master~" you say happily, placing the plate down in front of him. "I hope this matches your tastes!" 

"I'm sure it's excellent, Yu. You never produce anything subpar. I have to say, though, there's something here that looks tastier than the beef wellington." 

"What do you mean?" You tilt your head to the side, nearly causing your headband to slip off. You catch it quickly. Seven chuckles, then stands up. He's on you in a single stride, lifting your head up with a finger hooked under your chin. 

"So cute... I don't think I'll be able to focus on dinner with you looking so tasty, Yu." 

"M-Master!" you gasp. 

"More than any beef wellington... I think what I most want to have on my dinner table is you," he murmurs, leaning closer. 

"M-Master, we can't~" 

"Tsk... what kind of maid says no to her master?" Seven chides gently. "Would you have me go hungry instead? If I can't finish my work, will you take responsibility?" 

"W-well... I suppose... A-ah!" you cry out as Seven's other hand wanders down your back, over your ass. 

"Good girl," he murmurs, bending down to nuzzle against your neck before nipping the skin there with his teeth. He chuckles at your audible cry. "I love the noises you make, Yu. I can't wait to hear more of them." 

He backs you against the table, and then places both his hands on your ass to lift you up onto it. He starts to pull his mouth away from your neck, but, unbidden, your hand grips the back of his head, pulling him close again. He laughs against your skin. 

"You like my mouth that much? Where else would you like it...?" He begins kissing down your throat, across your clavicle. When he reaches the ruffles that cover your chest, he pulls back, shifting his grip onto your thighs. His hands begin to wander upwards, under your skirt, and you cry out, startled. 

"M-master!" 

"Ssshhh," he murmurs, lifting your legs up into the air, causing you to fall backwards onto the table. He angles one of your legs onto his shoulder, then runs a hand slowly along it from ankle to knee. "You look so cute in these white stockings, Yu." 

"Ah~ They looked cuter on you, Master Seven," you manage. He laughs. 

"Cheeky as always, Yu. But when I wore them, I didn't pair them with these..." You cry out loudly as he suddenly, unexpectedly, runs a finger along the crotch of your panties. 

"M-master! N-not there!" 

"The problem with white things, Yu... is that you can see right through them when they get wet." He traces his finger in a tight circle right over your clit, and you let out a long whine. "It won't be long until these might as well not be here at all..." 

You try to focus on your breathing, but it's almost impossible as his fingers continue their teasing explorations. "There are those sounds I was talking about," Seven says playfully. "So cute, Yu~ I'm glad I got you instead of a cat." He slips your panties to the side, revealing your dripping slit to the cool air. "If I put it in, will you meow for me?" he teases. 

"M-master..." 

"Is that a no?" 

"I-I'll meow if you tell me to," you pant. "Because I want to make you happy, Master." 

There's a pause as Seven seems to consider this. "Oooh, good answer! I like that response." He hooks his arms around your legs and pulls you down towards the edge of the table, inadvertently pulling your skirt up as he does. You didn't even hear him unzip his fly, but you can feel him now, the length of him rubbing up against your bare slit. 

"Alright, then, Yu... Let's hear you meow--" 

Your eyes snap open. You're drenched in sweat and the whole apartment feels sweltering. 

... 

Six showers, and you either need a confessional or to NEVER admit this EVER happened, to ANYONE.

* * *

You hadn't gone back to sleep after waking up. How could you, after THAT? No, you'd just gotten up, taken a very long, very COLD shower, and then gotten to work. On the party, not... other work. You can't do that right now. You mean, you could, but the guilt, dear God. Just when you thought you'd gotten jaded with what you do... Somehow, being inspired by a real person makes it a thousand times worse. 

You chat a bit with Zen and Jaehee when it gets to be a slightly more reasonable hour, but it just makes your thoughts more complicated and twisted up. There's a gossip article out about President Han... AKA Jumin's dad. You never used to pay attention to that stuff... you couldn't care less. It's weird to think that people you know now have to worry about that kind of garbage. Why does it matter who Jumin Han's father is banging on the side, ugh? That literally could not impact anyone less. People need to just mind their own business... 

And now it's a hassle for Jumin and Jaehee. You really have no frame of reference for that sort of life, but... This does make you think again about him using his ~charms~ on you. This sort of thing is probably why he thinks it's necessary, right? Jaehee even thinks the woman may have leaked the images herself; it's apparently happened in the past. Being around that kind of woman, you can't really blame Jumin for learning that sort of technique. Still, it's sad that he would think something like that necessary for you. But you suppose that then, you were just "a woman," and a woman he needed something out of. 

...Even though you can understand why, it just sort of makes you sadder instead of angry like you were. You're glad when the subject changes to Seven. Well. Mostly glad. It's a welcome distraction, but you keep thinking sinful things. You even say something totally insipid about wanting Seven to be your butler while your head is still in the clouds... or the dreams, to be more precise. 

Jaehee: “I suddenly remembered the photo of ‘Mary Vanderwood 3rd’”  
Zen: "I still can't forget that costume.”  
Zen: “ **Ugh. I don't want to remember it.** ”  
Yu: “I don't want to forget it +_+”  
Jaehee: “...”  
Zen: “UGH”  
Jaehee: “Do people often tell you that you're very odd, Yu?”  
Yu: “No, you're the first one my whole life.”  
Jaehee: “...”  
Zen: “Urgh, that picture...”  
Jaehee: “Let's just stop talking about Seven.”  
Yu: “No :I”  
Zen: “...”  
Jaehee : “...”  
Jaehee: “So Zen, what are you doing today?”  
Zen: “I have a meeting with the director ^^”  
Yu: >_<  
Zen: “I have to go soon. He told me it's important... I'm wondering what it'll be.”  
Jaehee: “Good luck. I'm sure everything will go well.”  
Zen: “Thank you.”  
Yu: “You guys are mean.”

* * *

Every time Seven reminds you that you shouldn't dig for information about him, it makes you want to do it more. Blah blah blah, hackers and cats are dangerous, blah blah blah, don’t ask questions... If you shouldn't ask questions about hackers and cats, you also shouldn't tease or taunt writers and dogs. They're as curious as hackers and cats are dangerous. And when they get a scent... 

For instance, you've just been pestering Jumin for information about Seven, and found out something very interesting! Luciel is his baptismal name... You'd kind of wondered... it sounded very Latin. But the thing is, Luciel is a diminutive of Lucifer. Sure, light bringer and all that. It was a proper angel name... But it seemed kind of like a curse, ahaha.. Who gave it to him? 

But besides the name! The interesting thing here is that Seven is Catholic! Like you!! Er... well, you were raised Catholic, anyway. You're somewhat lapsed. You haven't been to a confessional in almost a year. It seemed kind of pointless when you and the priest both knew you were going to keep right on sinning... Sinning pays the bills. You'd gone one time, after everything that happened with your "fiance," but not since. 

Jaehee is Catholic too, which is also interesting in its own way. Jumin is Christian. V, Seven, and Jaehee are all Catholic... That's a surprising number of Catholics, but you suppose you always have tended to pack together. 

Is Seven still Catholic? It's funny to imagine him being religious like that... Particularly given how much sin he's inspired in you lately... ...Oooooh, there's something good there! Luciel... inspiring sin... You grab your phone and jot down a memo. You can definitely do something with that in your secret agent story! Something poetic... It'll be good! Or you could do a priest scene, those are popular. Luciel, the priest with a passion for God but a shadow over his heart... An ill omen over his baptism, resulting in the name Luciel. Or something similar, anyway, you probably shouldn't actually use his name. What if it shows up on a search? Hahaha... He'd definitely have a reason to go into your archive then. But a similar name. This is good! 

You let your mind drift on the idea for a bit... "Luciel the priest" looks just like Seven in your mind, of course, just with different glasses. The little round ones. 

"What is your confession, my child?" 

"I've fallen in love with a man of God, father..." 

Yeah! Yeah! This is good! You gotta write this, right now!

* * *

Every conversation with Seven is a fun one. Every day with Seven… is a day in the sun. You think about funny things he’d say while you work, you wonder about him--his past, his present, his religion--when you take a shower, and you wonder if he’s eaten yet when you have lunch. 

This… is a crush. Definitely, you have a crush. 

“Maybe Mom would finally approve, since he’s Catholic too,” you say out loud, then laugh at your own stupid joke. Well, it would be hard to find someone she disapproved of more than your last boyfriend. Maybe if she’d known about the girl you dated in high school, pfff. 

It almost doesn’t bear mentioning that you drop everything when you hear the bink of the phone, now. Of course you do. Even if it’s not Seven, you’ll have more fun talking to whoever it is than you would on your own. But it IS Seven, and that’s even better! 

He’s had something that’s not Honey Buddha chips for lunch. Bungeoppang isn’t really a meal, but it’s a lot better than just chips! 

707: “The guts got on my fingers”  
707: “So typing with one finger”  
Jaehee: “ **Do not call the red bean paste guts;;;** ”  
Yu: “I kind of want to lick it…”  
707: “>_<”  
Jaehee: “What are you saying?”  
Jaehee: “My stomach just lurched a bit.”  
Jaehee: “I don’t often get to eat lunch, so please, for my sake…”  
Yu: “You have a sensitive stomach, Jaehee”  
Jaehee: “ **That would make anyone sick.** ” 

Actually, playing into Seven’s antics is almost MORE fun with Jaehee as the (forced) straight-man in the audience. You’re more than happy when the subject turns to religion. 

Jaehee: “I cannot believe”  
Jaehee: “that we have the same religion, Luciel”  
Yu: “That’s right, you’re Catholic, Jaehee~”  
Jaehee: “Yes, but I’m uncertain as to how seriously Luciel takes it”  
707: “I’m very serious about God~”  
Yu: “All Catholics are serious about God!”  
Yu: “You should be happy, Jaehee”  
Yu: “You share a religion with two cool people~”  
Jaehee: “Two…”  
Jaehee: “You mean…”  
Jaehee: “V?”  
Yu: “lolololol”  
707: “lolololololol”  
Yu: “I think Seven probably already knew but”  
Yu: “Jaehee~”  
Yu: “ **I’m Catholic too ^^** ”  
  
Yu: “I went to a Catholic high school and everything!”  
707: “Now that Zen knows lolol”  
707: “Do you think he’s going to ask for pictures of you in your uniform?”  
Yu: “lololol”  
Yu: “I was super cute”  
Yu: “but I hated those uniforms more than anything else on this earth ^^”  
Jaehee: “How is it that I have something in common with the both of you…”  
Yu: “We’re three peas in a pod!”  
707: “Exactly the same!”  
Yu: “Best friends forever!”  
707: “The three musketeers!”  
Jaehee: “ **Stop** ”  
Yu: “The three devout followers”  
Jaehee: “S T O P”  
Yu: “…”  
707: “…”  
Yu: :(  
Jaehee: “Don’t pout”  
Jaehee: “And I think you have the wrong definition of devout”  
Jaehee: “Devout is an adjective that refers to”  
Jaehee: “ **having strong faith and practicing it sincerely** ”  
707: “Yup!”  
707: “I am sincere!”  
707: “My faith is strong!”  
Jaehee: “ **When is the last time either of your went to a mass?** ”  
707: “Uhm.”  
707: “Hmm…”  
Yu: “We’re always with God inside our hearts”  
707: “That’s it!”  
Jaehee: “;;” 

The conversation continues. A lot of fun is had, and by the end of it, you’re attempting to compose an email to a cat. 

Life with Seven… is fun. 

\----------------------------------------------------

Thinking about it… Wouldn’t Zen be totally perfect to play Seven in a movie? 

  
Zen: “What?”  
Yu: “Think about it!”  
Yu: “You’d have to dye your hair or wear a wig…”  
Yu: “But it must be really easy for you to dye your hair since it’s so pale right?”  
Zen: “Why would I play Seven?”  
Yu: “In a BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE ABOUT HIS LIFE +_+”  
Zen: “I’m a musical actor…”  
Yu: “In a BLOCKBUSTER MUSICAL ABOUT HIS LIFE +_+”  
  
Yu: “Think about it more!”  
Yu: “You would make a great secret agent.”  
Yu: “You’ve already got the killer bod~”  
Yu: “Smooth voice~”  
Yu: “Way with the ladies~”  
Zen: “Well”  
Zen: “All these things are true”  
Zen: “But we’re talking about Seven here”  
Zen: “Not James Bond”  
Yu: “I could help you with the character study”  
Yu: “Underneath his goofy exterior, Seven is a serious and dangerous man! +_+”  
Zen: “…You see something different from everyone else, that’s for sure…”  
Yu: “He’s really good at his job”  
Yu: “And everything else”  
Yu: “He’s a genius!”  
Yu: “A hacker”  
Yu: “and a secret agent!”  
Yu: “and Catholic +_+”  
Zen: “why that last one”  
Yu: “SO”  
Zen: “;;”  
Yu: “He probably has a dramatic backstory like you said”  
Zen: “Well, I do think that’s possible”  
Yu: “His life would make a great movie!”  
Zen: “musical”  
Yu: “MUSICAL!”  
  
Zen: “Who would even write a musical like that?”  
Yu: “I could write it!”  
  
Zen: “Oh that’s right”  
Zen: “You’re a writer”  
Zen: “I didn’t know you wrote musicals! Why didn’t you say?”  
Yu: “…Because I don’t write musicals ^^;”  
Zen: “…”  
Yu: “Or scripts”  
Zen: “What do you write?”  
Yu: “ **erotica** ”  
Zen: “LOL”  
Zen: “yeah right lolololol”  
Yu: “lolol”  
Zen: “I’m curious though…”  
Zen: “Do you have any books out?”  
Yu: “A few short stories”  
Yu: “I write under a pen name though, so you probably won’t be able to find them~”  
Yu: “Actually, I wrote something once that I thought would be better as a play”  
Yu: “Maybe I should try to make it a play”  
Yu: “Zen, you’d be perfect as the sullen, mysterious librarian”  
Zen: “Of course~”  
Zen: “I’d love to be in anything you write < 3”  
Yu: “Ooooh”  
Yu: “So if I write the Seven musical…”  


* * *

707: “Yu!”  
Yu: “707!”  
707: “Hiya hiya~”  
707: “lolololol”  
707: “Zen’s selfie…”  
707: “How does he manage to post selfies every time?”  
707: “Amazing +_+”  
707: “I want to do that too… lolol”  
Yu: “You should!”  
707: “But I’m more of the mysterious type…”  
Yu: “nooooo”  
Yu: “I want to see them!”  
Yu: “Selfies of u with ur babes”  
Yu: “Selfies of u eating honey Buddha chips”  
Yu: “Pics of ur breakfast”  
Yu: “oh I guess those last two are the same lol”  
Yu: “living in the digital age!”  
Yu: “recording every detail of ur life!”  
707: “lololol”  
707: “that’s such a bad idea for a hacker lololol”  
707: “do you know how many people I’ve caught thanks to social media?”  
Yu: “at least one”  
707: “bingo!”  
Yu: “I should have been more thorough”  
707: “It wouldn’t have helped”  
Yu: “That’s true…”  
Yu: “God Seven can find any secret!”  
Yu: “Except…”  
707: “Except?”  
Yu: “…the secret of my heart?”  
707: “lololol”  
Yu: “lololololol”  
707: “I’m supposed to be the curious one”  
707: “but everyone seems to be curious of my past.”  
707: “We secret agents have a saying amongst us.”  
Yu: “‘Do not ask about the past of hackers and cats.’”  
707: “Good memory!”  
707: “Both are very dangerous creatures…”  
  
Yu: “lolol So no one press for answers meow!”  
707: “Cats are dangerous but don’t underestimate hackers meow!”  
707: “Grrrr!”  
Yu: “shouldn’t it be hiss?”  
707: “Hissssss”  
707: “I’m dangerous meow.”  
707: “Everyone seems to have forgotten”  
707: “How dangerous hackers are”  
707: “since I’m nice and normal”  
Yu: “and cute”  
707: “yes”  
707: “and cute”  
707: “but hackers”  
707: “hide like cockroaches”  
707: “but are poisonous”  
707: “and exist everywhere.”  
707: “Behind your back,”  
707: “above your head,”  
707: “under your feet,”  
707: “and…”  
707: “ **in your heart** ” 

That’s entirely possible, since yours just skipped a beat. 

Yu: “Don’t pierce thru my heart! >_<”  
707: “Haha.”  
707: “What do I do now?”  
707: “I’m”  
707: “already”  
707: “inside”  
707: “your heart.” 

WELL TECHNICALLY YES but 

707: “Is this it?”  
707: “.thump.”  
707: “.thump.”  
707: “.thump.” 

It probably is, considering your heart appears to be pounding right along. You’ve flushed bright red… thank God he can’t see! Augh! What do you say?! QUICK. MAKE A JOKE. 

707: “omg…”

Noooooooo MAKE A JOKE YU, MAKE A JOKE

707: “This joke is getting too hard for me, too…” 

Yeah, obviously, haha, 100% joke, all joke here, no seriousness. Just joke. Hahahaha… 

707: “Yu, are you alive?”  
Yu: “lol”  
Yu: “No, I died”  
Yu: “You stopped”  
Yu: “making my heart beat”  
707: “OMG!”  
707: “you saw my bad joke and raised the ante!”  
707: “you’d be scary to play poker against, Yu”  
Yu: “Poker? I’ve never played… let’s play some time~ I have money thanks to Jumin, so~”  
707: “How many people have you suckered in with that?”  
Yu: “lololol”  
Yu: “so many”

* * *

Seven talked about his 'other half'... 

Who could it be? 

A childhood friend, maybe? He seemed sad about childhood friends before…. And someone he used to know, who he only has a photo of… that sounds like a childhood friend, right? Someone he was really close to…? 

He always tells you not to pry, but you just want to pry more. You want to know more about him… But what on earth would happen in you ignored all his warnings and just pried away? A secret agent had to guard their secrets really well by definition, right? Not that you’d push too hard... You’d just _think_ about pushing too hard... 

\--

“Ah-ah-ah, what do we have here…” 

“H-hey, Seven,” you say with as much cheer as you can manage, hanging upside-down from the ceiling the way you are. You’ve been there a while, but haven’t been able to get loose. 

“Looks like someone didn’t take my warnings very seriously… Were you trying to snoop?” 

“Me? Naaaaah. I was just going to leave you a birthday present.” 

“A birthday present.” 

“Yep.” 

“You broke through two layers of security to leave my a birthday present? How dedicated! I’m impressed!” 

“Yeah, I’m a really dedicated person like that. Thought I’d broken through three layers of security, though.” 

“That’s why you’re upside-down.” 

“Yep…” 

There’s a long pause. 

“…Are you going to let me down?” 

“Oh, you want down?” 

“Yes. Very much so, I would like down.” 

“Well, I kind of like you at this height, but if that’s what you really want…” He flips a switch on the wall, and you jolt suddenly downwards… only to be caught again, a few feet from the floor. If you stretch your arms out as far as you can, you can just almost brush your fingertips against the ground. “There you go.” 

“Er… all the way down?” you suggest hopefully. 

“Well that would just be silly. Then you could get out.” 

“Right. Of course. That’d be silly.” 

“Still, this is a new angle,” Seven says, approaching you again. “Did you really think a skirt was the right thing to wear to a break in?” 

“I don’t have special spy clothes. You should lend me some.” 

“Oh, you want to play dress up?” Seven asks, and you can practically hear his grin even though you can’t see his face as he steps closer. Wow, this new height puts you… puts you right at crotch height, doesn’t it. “Well, skirts are dangerous for spy missions, trust me. If you’re going to wear them, you should at least wear pantyhose. Then I wouldn’t be able to do this—“ He runs a finger from the top of your knee socks, up—or down, as the case may be—your thigh. You jolt violently in the ropes, but it doesn’t do much other than cause you to nearly faceplant into his crotch. He skips lightly backwards, avoiding the flail, and laughs. 

“That’s pretty forward, Yu. You could have just asked… I guess that’s why you wanted to be let down, huh? That’s pretty naughty, Yu~” He steps forward again, and this time his hand goes right to your crotch, running a finger along the center of your panties. “These are all wrong too… Should I take them off and get you the right kind…?” 

You make a very noncommittal groaning sound. Blood which is currently pooled in your head is making a very valiant attempt to fight gravity. 

“Oh, but what do I do...? The way your legs are caught, I can’t really get them all the way off. This is a problem, huh...” 

“Well,” you say, voice strained. “If you let me down, then you could get them off.” 

“I just said I couldn’t do that~ You’re not even paying attention, are you? Here I am trying to teach you, and you’re not even focusing. This is why you got caught, you know.” 

“I was pretty sure the reason I got caught is because you’re the only person in the universe who’d think to combine laser sensors with a freaking rope snare trap out of the Looney Tunes, Se--aaaah!” 

Seven has pushed his fingers--and the crotch of your panties, down into your cunt, burying them up to the knuckles all at once. You gasp and groan as he pulls out and pushes in again, seeing how far your panties will stretch. “See?” he says, and you can practically HEAR his smirk. “These don’t offer any protection at all.” 

Your response turns into a whimpering moan as Seven curls his fingers inside you. Without anything to stabilize you, your whole body winds up rocking through the air in time with his thrusts, which only serves to make you more dizzy. You grip onto the sides of his pants for support. 

“You know,” Seven says with a sigh. “This doesn’t feel quite fair.” 

“No?” you groan out. “I’m only tied upside down and totally unable to move... what could be unfair about that?” 

“Cheeky,” he says, flicking a finger painfully against your clit, making you screech and your whole body seize up. “What I mean is, I’m giving you all these helpful tips, and you’re the one who tried to break into my house... That doesn’t seem fair to you, does it?” 

“My heart weeps for you,” you manage through gritted teeth as his fingers continue to work you over. 

“Glad you agree. These things really should be fair.” Seven’s hand reaches down into your view, and pulls the zipper on his fly down. You barely have time to be shocked; out comes his cock, already quite hard. “What do you think? Fair exchange?” 

Well... you might be in a compromised position, but you’re hardly gonna say no... 

With a nervous swallow, you take it carefully into your mouth. This is an odd angle… you’ve definitely never done this upside down. Seven suddenly thrusts forward, hitting up against the back of your throat, and sending you recoiling slightly backwards. But due to the nature of hanging from your legs, you just swing back forwards, down his cock again. It hits the back of your throat, you bounce backwards, you swing forwards. Seven picks up a comfortable—for him, you imagine, it’s certainly not for you—rhythm, as you bounce back and forth along his cock. You’re already dizzy and having trouble focusing, so you’ve no hope of keeping up with swallowing all the saliva. It’s dripping down out of your mouth and onto your face in a matter of seconds. 

Seven pulls his fingers from your cunt, but only briefly. He pulls your wrecked panties to the side, and you expect to feel his fingers in the flesh. What you get instead is a tongue, flicking against your clit. You groan loudly around his cock. 

Right. 

Fair exchange. 

\--

At some point your hand slipped into your panties and “thinking really hard” crossed the line into “masturbating really hard at the desk instead of working.” Right as both you and fantasy-Yu are about to get to a climax, your phone rings, snapping you out of your reverie. 

You glare, tempted to ignore it, but it’d be hard for you to get back into the swing of things anyway... so you quickly pull your hand out and answer the phone--with your OTHER hand--as you head to the bathroom to wash up a bit. 

“Hey Yoosung. What’s up?” 

“Yu, do you know what an ‘M’ is? Some guys in class called me that, but I don’t know what it means.” 

... Oh wow this is not the conversation you need to be having right now.

* * *

Jumin: “Don’t spread your imaginations on my Elizabeth the 3rd”  
707: “>_<”  
Jumin: “I’m offended”  
Yu: “That’s no good! We shouldn’t offend Jumin.”  
Yu: “Instead of Elly”  
Jumin: “Elizabeth 3rd”  
Yu: “Seven should use his imagination on me”  
Jumin: “Use her name correctly.”  
Jumin: “But that’s not a bad idea.”  
Yu: “ya!”  
Yu: “Wherever you would imagine Elly, just imagine me instead!”  
707: “I see…”  
707: “So just now, I imagined picking her up and”  
707: “swinging her around”  
Yu: “Just imagine me there instead!”  
707: “And hugging her super tight”  
Yu: “Me instead~”  
707: “And giving her a little love nibble”  
Jumin: “……”  
Yu: “…”  
707: “…”  
707: “You instead?”  
  
Yu: “…yes”  
Yu: “…For Elizabeth the 3rd!”  
Jumin: “Don’t feel the need to sacrifice yourself like that.”  
Jumin: “I’m fully capable of keeping Elizabeth the 3rd safe from the cat abuser”  
707: “>_<” 

You swear, it’s like Seven _knows_ you’ve been dreaming/fantasizing about him all day. Days? What fucking day is it even, right now? Everything is a haze of chatrooms, emails, party planning, masturbation, and guilty post-masturbation showering. 

The worst part... the worst part is... 

If it was just sexual, you could probably handle it. You’d be embarrassed and a bit ashamed, but you could deal with it. You’re not a stranger to your own libido; you write porn for a living, damnit. But it’s not just that. You’ve seen a grand total of maybe five pictures of him... and in two of them, he was wearing a wig. It’s not just that you’re attracted to him... 

It’s his personality. It’s how funny he is, and how bright, and how he seems to glow like the sun despite the fact you keep getting little hints of something darker. 

It’s the way he makes you feel, like you just stepped outside on a beautiful summer day after being locked in a basement for years. Your eyes can barely adjust, but you can’t stop staring. 

You could handle being attracted to him. 

The problem you’re having is that you’re developing a just more than just a crush.

* * *

You’ve officially made a home out of the apartment now. You’re settling down for your fifth night in it, and you’re finally comfortable sleeping in the bed. You’ve been spending some of Jumin’s money, and you changed the curtains and got a cover for the couch and put in the biggest shag rug you could find. It’s hot pink and like six feet long and you love it. 

You have all new shower accessories and you eat well every single day, and you still have hundreds of thousands of won left. After you throw this party, you’re gonna get a job working for Jumin if it kills you. Maybe you can become his designated cat sitter. That can be your job. Just taking care of Elizabeth the 3rd. You’d be good at it, and you don’t mind fur like Jaehee. 

That would be so great~ 

Life is so good right now! You haven’t felt this happy in years. You’re talking to all these great people, you’re doing something important, and you’re filled with so many ideas! Speaking of which…

\--

Oh, she’s updated. Wow, she’s really prolific, isn’t she? That must be why she’s so popular. Seven flips over to the tab where he has Yu’s website open. What’s this new one…? 

“The Priest of Calgiari.” Subtitle: “The Curse of God’s Love.” Wow, what a title. Is that really smut…? Curious, he clicks it. 

~  
“Miss Mary, why is the Father called Lucifer? Isn’t that the devil?” the young child asked nervously. I sighed, but smiled. I answered this question very regularly. 

“Lucifer was an angel before he was the devil, child. He was the Light Bringer. Father Lucifer is so named because he brings the light into all of our lives.” Mine especially…  
~

Oh God. 

A coincidence, right? She can’t write ALL her smut based on her friends! 

Wait, what’s—

Star-crossed lovers… THE CORPORATE HEIR AND THE ACTOR?! 

Okay. 

Never mind. 

She apparently can.

* * *

707: “I feel like Zen and Jumin”  
707: “are like cats and dogs.”  
707: “lololololol”  
Yu: “Nice comparison lolol”  
707: “Jumin’s like your super sensitive cat”  
707: “and Zen’s this nice dog who starts barking when cats come near. lol”  
Yu: “Aren’t we kind of like cats and dogs too?”  
Yu: “Or maybe… fox and the hound? Lol”  
707: “lolol”  
707: “I **am** foxy~  >.&al”  
Yu: “Fox! I’ll track down your scent for sure!”  
707: “Pretty puppy! It’s dangerous in the woods so stay away!”  
Yu: “Yep. It’s us lolol.” 

And it’s true… Seven makes you feel a bit like a bloodhound. You’re a naturally curious person, but you’ve never gone hunting like this before. You’re a private person, so normally you’re very tolerant of secrets… and to an extent, you are. It doesn’t bother you that Seven has them. You understand completely. And normally that would be it… you’d respect it and leave him be. But for some reason… you can’t, with him! You just keep poking around. Because you want to hear him. You want to see him. You want to know him. 

707: “I wanna have both ^^”  
Yu: “!!!”  
Yu: “Seven, you like dogs too?”  
707: “Yeah! Little fluffy ones and big loud ones~”  
Yu: “I’m so happy!”  
Yu: “Don’t tell Jumin”  
707: “he can read this lol”  
Yu: “but I actually like dogs better!”  
707: “lolol”  
707: “you told Jumin you like cats more”  
Yu: “ya”  
Yu: “and he said I was a good girl”  
Yu: “with a pretty voice”  
Yu: “we all say things we don’t mean when trying to make a good first impression lol”  
707: “he probably meant it”  
Yu: “No way~ lol”  
707: “so you like dogs and you liked being called a good girl…?”  
707: “+_+”  
707: “I see a pattern”  
Yu: “ **There is no pattern.**  
Yu: “they say genius brains see patterns in everything even when there’s nothing there”  
707: “is there nothing there?”  
Yu: **NOTHING.**  
707: “So if I said you’re a good puppy...”  
Yu: “Oh I just got an email for the party”  
Yu: “gotta respond to this”  
707: “Aren’t you kind of stealing my shtick right now?”  
Yu: “bye~” 

And now you’re thinking about leashes and collars and any number of things you don’t need to be thinking about, damnit...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For hardcore erotica involving Yu as a maid, please press A. For hardcore erotica involving Yu in a leash and collar, please press B. For hardcore erotica of both, please press C. For no hardcore erotica at all, press the back button because I'm full of sin and have no intention of stopping.


	5. Day 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No smut in this one. You're in for a long ride before the smut kicks in again, friends, so buckle up.

Businessman. 

Director's son. 

Top 1%. 

Gifted. 

Top of the industry. 

All of these were identifiers applied to Ju-won often, loudly, and in public. 

There were others, however. Ones he knew were likely accurate, but that he kept very, very quiet. 

Gay. 

Queer. 

Faggot. 

Those words burned in the back of his skull most days, but other than the trashiest of tabloids, they were never spoken in regards to him. He intended to keep it that way. 

And for a while, it was easy. He lacked an interest in women, and it concerned his father at times, but he was good at his work... no, the best. One day, his position might force him to marry--briefly, at least--and produce a child. But that was not now, and he didn't like to think about it. 

He was content to keep it that way indefinitely, or as nearly so as possible... until he saw the actor Chán on stage. 

He wasn't famous. He was a musical actor, not a movie star. But on stage, he glowed. He radiated beauty, passion. His voice was like a choir of angels. He... 

Made Ju-won think things he shouldn't be thinking. 

\--

"A morning that starts with you... I could get used to this," Chán says. 

"Try not to," Ju-won says, handing the younger man a mug of coffee. "The fewer times we do this, the better." 

"You've said that the last three times," Chán says with a chuckle. "Forgive me if I've stopped believing it." 

Ju-won sighs. He's not wrong, though... it just keeps happening. Nights he doesn't spend with Chán are spent in torment, thinking about him and trying to satisfy himself... and always failing. It's never as good in his imagination. 

"Don't worry so much, Ju-won. This works for us... I can't let anyone know about this side of me either. It would kill my career before it even has a chance to start." 

"It's dangerous. One slip is all it would take." 

"So we'll be careful." 

\--

Damn! End of the chapter. Seven closes the tab... He should get back to work anyway. 

Man. 

One of these days he’s definitely gonna forward this to Jumin AND Zen. And it will be fantastic.

* * *

Your phone goes off in the middle of the night. You'd been half asleep... but when you groggily grab it, you just see a bunch of really weird messages on the messenger. No one's online... was it a glitch? 

\--Yoosung enters the chatroom.--  
Yoosung: “Yu!” 

Oh... 

Yoosung★: “Didn't you hear a strange alarm?”  
Yu: “Oh... yeah. Did you see those weird messages?”  
Yoosung★: “Weird messages?”  
Yoosung★: “I didn't see any...”  
Yoosung★: “I was just playing LOLOL”  
Yoosung★: “but my phone rang so I came in.”  
Yu: “Ya, I heard a noise... but just before you came in, there were some weird messages”  
Yu: “Do you think it's a glitch?”  
Yoosung★: “Maybe.”  
Yu: “I'll tell Seven.”  
Yoosung★: “Please do!”  
Yoosung★: “I was so surprised that I left without completing the quest.”  
Yoosung★: “My guild members are gonna be so mad!”  
Yoosung★: “I gotta get back so please tell him for me~”  
Yu: “You're quick lol”  
Yoosung★: “If you've begun a quest, you have to see it to the end!”  
Yoosung★: “You have to be responsible about these things like that, lol.”  
Yoosung★: “Anyways, I'll be off!”  
Yoosung★: “Good night!!”  
\--Yoosung★ has left the chatroom--

So weird… what on earth had those messages been? You feel a bit anxious about it. Maybe just because they’d been so creepy… Some had seemed like random letters and numbers and symbols, but that bit at the end… 

“I am going to corrupt you.” 

And it had said Unknown… It wasn’t that same guy again, was it?? The hacker? 

You try to call Seven, but he’s not answering… He’s probably busy. You chew nervously on your lower lip. 

“I don’t like this… I have a bad feeling…”

* * *

Yu: “Did you stop in to say hi?”  
Yu: “Kind of rude to shove it into the whole messenger when I’ve been texting.”  
Yu: “You could have replied privately.”  
Yu: “Seems like I’m the only one who saw it anyway, though...”  
Yu: “...There’s not even anyone here, is there? Where are my messages even going...”  
Yu: “I wish I knew who you were.”  
Yu: “And what you were up to...” 

You stare idly down at your phone. Just a long, uninterrupted stream of text messages from you to the invalid number “Unknown” had texted you from. Your diary into the abyss. 

The bink of someone signing into the chatroom distracts you. Seven? Please, God, let it be Seven... your nerves are playing up. You don’t think you can sleep like this... But no, it’s Jaehee. 

Jaehee: “Yu, you’re here very late.”  
Yu: "Jaehee, did you see any weird messages in the chatroom?”  
Jaehee: “Weird messages?”  
  
Jaehee: “No, I only heard an obnoxious alarm noise”  
Yu: “So you heard that too…”  
Jaehee: “Seems like there’s a messenger bug.”  
Jaehee: “But other than the strange alarm noise, I didn’t notice anything out the ordinary.” 

Hmmmm… You’re worried about it. But does this sort of thing happen? Maybe it’s just a bug? No one else seems worried at all. But you can’t get those messages out of your head. Could it really just be a glitch? 

Jaehee: “More importantly however…”  
Jaehee: “Just what were you two thinking…”  
Jaehee: “ **encouraging Mr. Han like that ?** ” 

…oh oops. She’s mad about the cat businesses... You hadn’t really even thought about it. You’d been totally distracted by Seven’s maybe-flirting about “love bites” to really give any thought to it... but you’d kind of suggested Jumin make a wine for cats, hadn’t you? ...And then... again afterwards... You’d told him it was a good idea, and even brainstormed with him about it. 

...You hadn’t really taken it seriously, haha... ...That’s probably why Jaehee sounds so mad. 

Yu: “aheheh…”  
  
Jaehee: “I can’t do much to you”  
Jaehee: “But Luciel”  
Jaehee: “ **JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT I DO WITH YOU…** ”  
\--707 has entered the chatroom—  
  
Yu: “Seven!! Run for your life!! Save yourself!!”  
  
Jaehee: “It’s already too late”  
Jahee: “Luciel, do you have anything to say to me?”  
707: “Meow?”  
  
Yu: “How do you expect a cat to speak Korean?  
707: “Meow~”  
Jaehee: “So you’re a cat?”  
707: “Ya”  
Jaehee: “Shouldn’t cats that age **BE NEUTERED**?”  
  
Yu: “!!!”  
Yu: “I am sincerely sorry.”  
707: “I apologize.”  
Yu: “I made a grave mistake.”  
  
Jaehee: “Why did you also apologize…”  
Yu: “There are some things in this world that must never come to pass”  
Jaehee: “…”  
707: "THIS IS TROUBLE"  
707: "THERE WAS A BUG!?!!"  
Yu: "Oh, yeah… It was weird…" 

As much as you hate to be distracted from your good humor, that thing actually does have you worried. And you were right to be worried… turns out it WAS related to the hacker. Even worse than you’d thought, the messenger got hacked again! It’s the same guy, right? It has to be… 

It’s serious enough that Seven suggests security guards for all the members… 

Except you. 

Because your location is secret. 

You don’t want to let on that you’re nervous, so you just roll with it. After all, it could be nothing. And why would a hacker show up in person anyway? But… the hacker knows your location… Right? Because he’s the one who sent you here… Assuming it’s all the same person. 

But of course, if he’d been a serial killer wanting to hurt you, he could have done that ages ago… at any point, really. You’re just being scared for no reason. Seven briefly floats the idea of coming here himself, which makes your heart leap into your throat and try to escape out of your mouth… But… He’s too busy. He’s just going to keep an eye on you through the CCTV. You’d noticed them before, out in the hallway. You’d assumed they belonged to the apartment complex… Seven put them there?? Is that even legal? It’s not like you’re the only apartment here! But okay… 

It’s kind of weird to think that he’ll be watching you, but at least it’s not in your room! It’d be even more awkward if he were visiting, so you’ll just take this as a good thing.

* * *

You feel a little restless today, thanks to the hacker stuff... You do some work, but you feel a bit claustrophobic. You've always been like this. Left to your own devices, you'd stay indoors for days at a time. But the second you feel like you CAN'T leave, you freak out and get cabin fever. You wind up going out to the convenience store, not because you need anything, but just to prove that you can leave the apartment without being kidnapped. You’re a bit jumpy on the way there and back, but nothing happens. Phew. No hacker/serial killers. You’re fine. The bodyguard thing for everyone else is just a precaution anyway... 

You glance back at the CCTV camera as you’re punching in the code to the door. Is Seven watching…? You smile a bit, but that smile quickly fades as you realize it’s probably his weird totally-a-maid-guys-I-promise that’s watching. It might be petty jealousy, but you’re suspicious of her. You’re not wasting a smile on her! You just go inside and drop your bags on the floor. Right as you do, your phone starts to ding. Activity! Maybe Seven saw you get home and is texting you! Haha… as if… 

It’s actually Jaehee in the messenger, although Seven comes in after a bit. He’s still having trouble focusing… poor guy! He must have so much work… You hate that he feels like he has to split his focus because of you. But on the plus side, he totally did see you leave and come back! That… makes you feel pretty good, actually. Like he’s actually here, in a sense. Although just watching won’t really stop anything from happening if someone breaks in… Well… The door is plenty secure. You’re just being paranoid. 

Yu: “You don’t have to feel bad, Seven!”  
Yu: “You’re already working so hard! Don’t worry too much about me; I’m fine here!”  
  
707: “It’s frustrating”  
707: “I can’t give you a bodyguard… and I can’t go…”  
707: “So…”  
707: “I’d like to make a **bodyguard robot** for you…” 

Holy shit. 

707: “But I guess that would take a long time T_T”  
Jaehee: “you could simply finish your work for the agency and catch the hacker.”  
707: “Body guard robot…”  
Jaehee: “Or, go there yourself to protect her…”  
707: “Maybe you’d like that…”  
Jaehee: “;;;”  
Yu: “I love robots! <3”  
Yu: “But you’re so busy… So don’t worry about me!”  
707: “Ooh!”  
707: “I love robots too!”  
Jaehee: “I see you two have managed to find another thing you have in common;;;”  
707: “Awesome”  
Jaehee: “Am I even being heard…?”  
707: “To be honest, I was planning on creating a **small watch dog** just to test it out,”  
Jaehee: “I am not”  
707: “I’m not confident enough to send it to ur place”  
Yu: “??? YOU MADE ONE?” 

Seven posts the best image you have ever seen in your entire life. 

A little robot dog. 

Breathing fire. 

Yu: “OH MY GOD”  
Yu: “IT’S SO CUTE”  
Yu: “OMG”  
Yu: “OMG!!!”  
707: “Really!?”  
707: “I’m glad you like it lololol”  
Jaehee: “It is cute”  
707: “Ms. Vanderwood did tell me to just work if I have the time for that…”  
Jaehee: “I completely agree with that…”  
Jaehee: “But it did come out very cute.”  
Yu: “It’s sooooooooo cute!”  
Yu: “Lovely~”  
Yu: “Adorable~”  
Yu: “Almost as cute as Seven~”  
Jaehee: “;;;”  
Jaehee: “You could almost sell it.”  
707: “ **It spits fire from its mouth. Do you think the government will approve? ^^** ”  
Yu: “ **I WANT IT** ”  
Jaehee: “Don’t increase the font size”  
Jaehee: “You might actually go to jail for creating such a hazardous product, rather than being able to sell it…”  
707: “;;;”  
707: “But still, isn’t it pretty?”  
707: “I thought”  
707: “It would be perfect for Yu”  
707: “Since both of them are cute…!”  
Yu: “God Seven is so much cuter~”  
Yu: “I want both~ Can I be that selfish in this life~?”  
Jaehee: “;;;”  
707: “But…”  
707: “Even if I make things like this,”  
707: “It doesn’t actually help Yu”  
  
Jaehee: “Yup.”  
Yu: “It does help! It’s a fire breathing robot!!! I want it!”  
707: “It’s dangerous;;”  
707: “…And it also might explode because of the gas tank T_T”  
Yu: “omg”  
707: “I should create a cute version that doesn’t spit out fire lolol”  
Yu: “ **I want the fire version** ”  
Jaehee: “Yu;;”  
Jaehee: “You are sort of a dangerous person in your own way;;”  
Yu: “+_+”  
Jaehee: “Luciel, why don't you simply work if you have the time?;;”  
707: “Yeah…”  
707: “I should just work…”  
707: “WHY DID I DO THAT??”  
Jaehee: “Because sometimes you simply cannot work.”  
707: “…”  
Yu: “You should take a walk and clear your head, Seven! You’ve been locked in too long~”  
Jaehee: “I agree”  
707: “Okie dokie”  
707: “I’m gonna clear my head a bit”  
707: “and come back”  
Yu: “I’ll be waiting for you! Cheer up!”  
707: “Yup!”  
707: “I’ll be keeping an eye on you even while I’m taking a break”  
707: “so don’t worry!” 

…Ooh. 

That gives you an idea.

* * *

You change clothes first... Will he notice? Will he think it’s weird? Probably, but you want to wear your new outfit. Since you were able to go out without incident, you're going to go out again after lunch and buy more clothes on Jumin's coin. The party's going to be in a week, so... spending one million won in a week is your new goal. You're gonna go clothes shopping! You didn't exactly bring clothes with you. You can buy enough outfits for the whole week, hahaha... 

For right now, you just throw on what you have: some fashionably shredded jean shorts and an oversized pink top. You're not sure if the shirt was actually designed for someone much larger or if you're wearing it correctly, but either way, it's comfy and cute. And you like the way it keeps falling off one of your shoulders. You don't normally have money to buy clothes, so when you'd seen it... You couldn't help it! It hadn’t occurred to you until you were paying that, hey, you have MONEY. You can BUY THINGS. 

You go out into the hall, glancing both ways first. It’d be embarrassing to be seen waving at nothing. The camera isn’t hidden, per se, but most people wouldn’t notice it. You close the door behind you and then wave a bit awkwardly at the camera. You’d thought this would be cute, but it’s actually kind of weird feeling, since you can’t see Seven back. After a few seconds, you pull out your phone and call him. 

“Seven! You’re looking at the camera now, right?” 

“Yeah. That outfit’s cute! Is that your style? You were just wearing jeans and a t-shirt earlier.” 

You give an excited little wiggle, forgetting momentarily that he can see you. He noticed! He thought it was cute! “I saw it in a store I was walking past… The clothes there were really cute so I was thinking I might go back. Are you still out for a walk?” 

“Yeah. I’m heading back, though. Are you going to the store now?” 

“No… I just wanted to say hi,” you admit, then wave at the camera again. “It’s almost like being in the same place, right? Since you can see and hear!” 

“Ahahaha… You’re so cute. I think you’re the only person who would be comfortable standing in the hallway talking to a camera. Should we play a game?” 

You blink in surprise. “A game? I didn’t know you were that kind of guy, Seven. Are you asking for a show?” 

“W-w-wuh NO! No! I meant like, like… rock, paper, scissors!” Seven’s flustered voice is sooooo cute. 

“Strip rock, paper, sci—“ 

“THE REGULAR KIND.” 

You can’t help laughing. “I bet your face matches your hair right now! Not fair that I can’t see you~ I want to.” 

“It would be fun,” he says, and laughs, and it’s like liquid gold dripping into your ear. “I have to finish my work and catch this guy, though! Stupid hacker.” 

“You’ll get him! No one can best God Seven!” you say cheerfully. “I’m not worried at all!” 

Just as you say that, though, you hear a noise in the hallway behind you and jump straight up in the air in shock, spinning around. You even drop your phone in shock… but nothing’s there. What made the noise?! 

“What? What it is?!” you hear Seven exclaiming from the phone. You bend down quickly to pick it up. 

“Sorry! Someone just opened their door!” you lie. “I’m gonna go back inside now…” 

You quickly do just that, plugging in the code to the door as fast as you frickin’ can and bolting inside, though you try to look casual about it. 

“Are you okay?” Seven’s voice comes through the phone. 

“I’m fine, haha, it just startled me.” You glance out through the peep hole in the door. Nothing… but you can’t stand looking, you feel like something’s gonna suddenly loom into view. 

“I wish there were a camera in that room…” 

“…Oh? Are you still wanting a special show…?” 

“Gaaah! Yu!” 

“I guess I should be glad there isn’t actually a camera inside here. You’d tell me if there was one in the bathroom, right…?” 

“There’s only one in the hallway! I can’t see what you do in your room!” 

“I guess that’s probably for the best…” 

“Probably?” 

“But doesn’t that mean you’ve been looking at an empty hallway this whole time? Isn’t that really boring?” 

“Well, it would be more interesting if I could see you,” he admits. “But I don’t mind! I just wonder what you’re doing in your room. When you work as a special agent, you have to constantly observe people to find the right time to hack. Then you start noticing a couple of the person’s hidden habits. Sometimes that provides us an opportunity… most of the time it just gets annoying. Do you have any habits like that?” 

“Hmm… I kind of don’t want to tell you.” 

“Ohhh! A bad habit?!” 

“No! Well, maybe. I just kind of like the thought of you observing me closely to try and find them out. Isn’t it less fun if I just tell you?” 

“…Could you be an exhibitionist?” 

“H-hey! I didn’t mean it like that!” 

“It makes sense… You keep talking about shows…” 

“You’re the one watching!” you protest hotly. 

“Well, that’s true,” he agrees slyly. “I _would_ like to observe you in there… Maybe I could tell you a habit you don’t even know about… I could definitely tease you for it~” 

You’re flushing bright red. So glad you’re not outside right now! “I-I’m hanging up now! Enjoy your walk!” 

“I’m almost back now,” Seven says cheerfully. “Time to get back to work and catch the hacker! I feel better now.” 

“I’m glad. …Good luck, Seven! I’m confident in you, so don’t worry!” 

“Then, bye!” 

You hang up the phone, still bright red. That guy… always manages to turn things around on you.

* * *

Some of the emails you get are honestly just weird… Like, this traditional music group… They’re referring to you as the “RFA Singer” and asking you to “sing” (type) lyrics to old songs. And this “Marie,” the winery representative that Jumin sent… She’s been super drunk in BOTH the messages she sent to you. You can barely parse what she’s saying. She’d signed the first damn email as “winety ownets awrepsemtatvie.” The second one had been signed “Winery OWners REprestnateive,” which was progress only in the smallest way. 

But at the same time, you were also exchanging emails with Mario Guevara, Gordon Ramsay (FUCKING GORDON RAMSAY!!!), and… and… okay, those were the only ones that were cool so far. But! Gordon Ramsay! It was everything you could do to be cool and professional and not gush all over him. You had to get him to go to the party, first! Then you’d be able to MEET him, aaaah… 

Still, you only have a few more days to put this party together… a week… will anyone even show up on such short notice? So far the potential guests have been really trepidatious about it. You’re pretty sure a lot of the big ones aren’t even in Korea right now. They’d have to fly in on like a week’s notice… Argh, V, why? Maybe that’s not a big deal for rich people, but you have to think that it would be a lot easier if you had like a month’s notice instead of a week. 

But as weird as this job is, you have to admit it’s an incredible opportunity. No matter what happens with this hacker, as long as everyone is okay in the end… you won’t be upset at all. 

Especially because you’d just gotten off the messenger with Jumin and Jaehee, and… You’d left a really good impression on both, somehow! You’d helped Jaehee with her little scheme to get him to the Middle East mostly because it was the fun thing to do… You’re pretty much always up for shenanigans, no matter whose they are. 

But more importantly, Jumin…! You’d mentioned wanting to work for his company, almost in a joking way, to test the waters… and he had been TOTALLY. DOWN. He’d said you had _talent_ ! He was impressed by how well you were taking to the job of planning the party! 

YES. 

If you can pull this off… you will be… **gainfully employed**.

* * *

You go out clothes shopping in the afternoon… Well, actually, you check with Jumin first. It’s a bit embarrassing, but it IS his money, and in the end, you couldn’t just spend it willy nilly without asking first. He’d given it to you for food, after all. He seemed bewildered at your question, which you’d kind of expected, but said that of course he didn’t mind. 

You’d been tempted to explain why you felt the all-consuming need to ask for permission despite knowing damn well he’d be fine with it, but realized quickly that would involve being a bit too personal, so you’d played it off by being cute and silly instead. Thanks to your antics with Seven, everyone’s always willing to just write something off as you being quirky. 

...A quiet, skeptical part of your mind figures that’s why he does it too. But you try to shush it... You want to believe that Seven really is a bright person. 

The boutique you'd poked around a bit earlier gets a thorough shopping spree, as do a few other clothing stores/stands in the area. You manage to find some really cute stuff... a tattered jean skirt that kind of matches the shorts you'd just got, some more oversized shirts in various pastels, even pastel blue FISH NET, which you hadn't even realized existed, but have to purchase as soon as you see. A socks and underwear store gets similarly raided; you have a serious weakness for stockings. 

Three hours later, it's starting to get a bit dark out--autumn is well along towards winter, after all. Plus, you've spent like 400,000 won, so you decide to head back after picking up some bungeoppang from a street vendor. Zen had mentioned he'd gotten some, so once you see it, you know you have to get it too. 

You wave at the camera as you get back to your door, then fumble a bit entering the code because your hands are full of bags. You kind of want to put on a fashion show for Seven, showing off all your new outfits, but you can’t distract him like that when he’s busy. You’d only called before because you’d known he was on a walk… As soon as you think that, however, your phone starts to ring. You drop your bags in the entryway and answer. It starts with a dramatic drum roll sound, because of course it does. Ah, Seven… 

“Seven Zero Seven safety check system activated! Answer every question asked from this moment. It is dark outside. You won’t be able to see very well but please check whether anything seems strange. Is anyone standing outside the window or suspiciously walking in the hallway?” 

“Seven, I’m on the fifteenth floor… We have serious problems if someone’s standing outside the window.” 

“You never know!” 

“Alright… Hallway, all clear! …Window! All clear! Closet, all clear! Under the bed, all clear! Bathroom shower… All clear! We’re all clear, captain!” 

“Good, soldier. Keep your eyes wide open and always look around your surroundings! Next question… how was your shopping trip? Did you have a good day?” 

“Yeah, I just went to a few boutiques in the neighborhood. I got some cute stuff! If you catch the hacker, I can put on a fashion show for you~” 

“That, er, that, uh, that won’t be necessary! Seven Zero Seven, Defender of Justice, needs no reward!” 

“None?” you ask slyly. “That’s a shame. I had a couple planned.” 

“A-a-aaa… W-well… Er, no! I need to concentrate!” Ah, there’s that guilt again. You shouldn’t be distracting him! “God… my head hurts again. I’m getting worried. What can I do to protect you? Should I just make a security guard robot? I feel like if I put myself to it and don’t sleep, I can make one in three days…” 

“Er…” 

“But… if I don’t finish what I’m doing right now, you might be in more danger so I can’t stop working on this. Guuuh!! I would have made it already if I had two bodies…” Oh that’s a mental image that you didn’t need and shouldn’t mention. “No, I would have already caught this sneaky hacker bastard. God… I’ll try.” 

“D-don’t worry, Seven! I’m fine here, so just focus on your work!” you assure him, trying to shake out of your head the mental image of two Sevens doing various things from either side of you. 

“Alright. Yu, you know what I’m gonna say right? Don’t skip your meals! Be careful! If you get bored, come out of the hallway and wave to the camera for me. You won’t see it, but I’ll wave back! Remember that you’re never alone.” That’s weirdly comforting. “Oh! Vanderwood’s coming again! Adios!” 

And he’s gone. 

…Why do you get the feeling that Vanderwood is more his keeper than his maid…?

* * *

Seven really seems to be having a hard time… But your sensation of uneasiness and guilt doesn’t crescendo until that evening, when you’re chatting with him and Yoosung. You kind of really feel like… maybe you’re the cause of his difficulties? He keeps looking at the CCTV and worrying. You wish you could just get one of Jumin’s bodyguards so he wouldn’t have to be so worried. 

Yoosung★: “Why don’t you at least send over the puppy robot?” 

Oh! That’s not a bad idea! 

707: “The puppy robot?”  
Yoosung★: “yeah!”  
Yoosung★: “You spent all that time making it.”  
Yoosung★: “Maybe it can protect Yu at least a little bit?”  
Yu: “I totally want it!!”  
Yoosung★: “See!”  
Yoosung★: “Yu says she wants it!”  
707: “But it spits out real fire… It’s dangerous;;”  
Yoosung★: “You just tell her how to properly use it~!”  
Yoosung★: “Or maybe just take out that feature”  
Yu: “ **Do not take out that feature** ”  
Yoosung★: “;;”  
Yu: “I want it~”  
Yoosung★: “Well, maybe take it out anyway, she seems a bit too keen on the fire part”  
Yu: “I’ll fight you”  
Yoosung★: “I’m scared~”  
  
Yu: “Isn’t that the wrong emoji to use if you’re scared...?”  
707: “I just made it because I couldn’t focus.”  
Yoosung★: “Come on~”  
Yu: “What matters is your intention! I would love for you to give it to me. …Even if it doesn’t breathe fire.”  
Yu: “though it should”  
Yoosung★: Yu says she wants it!”  
707: “Hmm;;”  
Yoosung★: Even if you take out the fire”  
Yu: “T_T”  
Yoosung★: "It’ll represent how much you’re worrying about her so I think it’s a good idea!”  
707: “WORRYING ABOUT HER!?”  
Yoosung★: "Ya”  
707: “You think…?”  
Yu: “Wasn’t that… sort of obvious…?”  
707: “I’m just so nervous”  
707: “and feel worried”  
707: “and wanna make gifts”  
Yoosung★: "Seven;; What’s up with you?”  
707: “and I can’t focus”  
707: “and I keep wanting to turn on the messenger” 

Erm 

707: “and see the CCTV just in case she’s at the hallway” 

Why do you kind of get a feeling 

707: “AND I WANT TO CALL HER!!!” 

That you’re kind of making this worse? 

707: “Gahhh, I feel like I’m about to explode!” 

Like a lot worse? 

Yu: “Err… Seven… You don’t, um...”  
707: “ **My brain is not wired to have such emotions.** ”  
Yoosung★: “But I kind of thought that too…” 

Nooooo don’t say it. 

707: “Thought what?”  
Yoosung★: “;;Since you **have feelings for Yu** ” 

Noooooo you said it! Yoosung! Aaaah no! We’re not at that stage yet! 

Yoosung★: “you get worried, want to make gifts, and all that.”  
707: “H A V E F E E L I N G S?” 

Oh god noooo he’s freaking out! Ah! 

Yu: “W-well, it’s more important that he take action when he’s comfortable! I’ll be ready whenever!”  
Yoosung★: “Seven! Yu says she’s ready! Lololol” 

THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU MEANT OH GOD

707: “Uhm” 

AAAAAAAAA—

Yoosung★: “If you have feelings for her,”  
Yoosung★: “then I support it one hundred percent, haha <3”  
707: “How am I supposed to react here?;;” 

YU. YOU MADE HIM UNCOMFORTABLE. YOU MONSTER. 

…But what if Yoosung is right? What if Seven’s feeling like this because…? You’re feeling really conflicted. 

Yoosung★: “If you cared enough to create a robot,”  
Yoosung★: “then I’m sure you developed feelings for her!”  
Yoosung★: “All that’s left”  
Yoosung★: “is the beginning of a romantic relationship~! <3”  
707: “lololol”  
707: “Romantic lolololol” 

Not… the… best response… 

Yu: “Well, haha, I mean, romantic sounds nice…” 

God, are you desperate?! How pathetic! Shouldn’t you be trying to downplay it so that he isn’t as distracted, if Yoosung’s right?? But is he…? Seven doesn’t seem interested. 

707: “Hmm…!”  
707: “I want to live in a world where that’s possible…”  
Yoosung★: “A romantic relationship is totally possible in the world we live in lolol”  
Yoosung★: “Why are you backing out~”  
707: “ **Because** ”  
707: “ **I don’t do things like that, lol** ”

…Oh. 

707: “I’m going to spend my whole life staring at the computer, lol”  
707: “Romantic relationships are not for me >.<” 

…………Oh… 

You feel hurt, which is stupid, and you immediately hate yourself for. You have absolutely NO right to feel hurt. You’ve known each other for five days! Do you feel led on? Friend-zoned? What a fucking piece of shit you are! You’re not owed a relationship! Ugh! You’re literally the worst kind of person. 

Yoosung★: “What;;;”  
Yoosung★: “I don’t think that makes sense…”  
707: “Yeah…”  
707: “I don’t think I make sense either.”  
707: “;;I don’t know why I made that puppy robot.”  
707: “Should I throw it away;?”  
Yu: “NO”  
Yu: “ABSOLUTELY NOT”  
Yoosung★: “It looks fine. Why do you want to throw it away?”  
Yoosung★: T_T  
Yoosung★: “Seven;;”  
707: “Gahh!!!”  
707: “SO I made a robot. Big deal.”  
707: “I even manage that Tripter bot!” 

Tripter… bot…? 

As it turns out, Seven made a Tripter bot that spams Zen’s photo, which is just… so hilarious, and so like Seven. But he has a point. 

707: “the fact of the matter is”  
707: “I have a heart that is so pure and firm” 

You are not thinking about his heart right now

707: “like a glass marble” 

At ALL. 

707: :that I can just whip out” 

IN THE LEAST

707: “robots and bots, lol”  
707: “There’s no way I have lovey dovey feelings for someone lol.”  
Yoosung★: "Seven.”  
707: “Yeah?”  
Yu: “That’s okay, just don’t throw the robot away!”  
Yoosung★: "I don’t think he’s being honest;;”  
707: “Honesty is a luxury for me lolol”  
707: “What if I go out of my way to be honest”  
707: “and something bad happens?”  
Yu: “It’s okay! Let’s just let it go, Yoosung.”  
Yoosung★: "Alright, I get it it… so just promise me that you won’t throw the robot away.”  
Yu: “Please?”  
707: “Oh right!”  
707: “I was working, wasn’t I?”  
707: “Bye Yoosung!”  
707: “You take care, okay Yu?”  
\--707 has left the chatroom—

And just like that he’s gone. And you’re left feeling like you got hit by a train… but a train that you owed money, so you totally deserved it, and also how dare you even feel hurt?

* * *

You do wind up crying, but it's the bathroom. Stuff that happens in the bathroom doesn't count, and you don't have to feel any guiltier about it than you already do. It's always been that way. Bathrooms are the one place where you can get away. You’d learned as a young child that no one was allowed to watch you in the bathroom, even when they watched you everywhere else. You’d just sort of hoped that applied to God too, and bathrooms had become to one place you could escape. 

You don't really feel any better when you come out, but you're sort of drained of excess energy, so you can at least try to focus on your work. Your eyes keep slipping of the screen, though. You take the call when Yoosung rings, just for a distraction. 

You definitely hadn’t expected him to accidentally confess to having a crush on you, though. 

Like. 

At all. 

You’d kind of assumed his curiosity towards you was in the same vein as Zen’s harmless flirting. But to hear him tell it, he developed a serious crush on you, and is just backing off because he thinks Seven likes you, basically. He says it so casually that you’re a little floored. You’d never really considered him in that light, even though he’s only a few years younger than you. 

You hang up feeling even more confused than ever, so you just try again to focus on work. Life with men around is seriously complicated… First Seven tells you he’s _not_ interested, then Yoosung tells you he _is_ , or at least _was_. What’s next? Will Zen confess his undying love? Will Jaehee turn out to be your long-lost childhood friend? Will it be revealed that you’re Jumin Han’s cousin? This is your life, damnit, not one of your shitty novels!

* * *

You shouldn’t have called Seven. 

Your hands just dialed on their own!! 

You should have hung up… 

“Gahhh… You called…” _You are instantly filled with regret._ “I think my brain’s broken… Do you know that I can’t really take all the calls I get? There’s a risk it’s bugged…” 

“Wh… bugged? Someone’s listening to our conversation? That feels…” 

“Feels…? You don’t mean in a good way, right? Come to think of it, you were like that earlier…” 

“N-no!” 

“Woooow. I guess Yu really was like that the whole time… Should I feel weird about watching the camera now…?” 

You make a garbled noise that’s not really any human language, cheeks burning bright red, and Seven laughs. You suppose utter humiliation is worth it if it makes him laugh. 

“Still, you have to check when you’re discussing important information.” 

“Th-that’s never really been a concern of mine, since I don’t handle important stuff…” 

“You do now! When you talk on the phone, you kind of have to let them know. ‘Hey guys~ I know that you’re listening… I’m gonna kill you if you don’t hang up!’ …something like that.” 

“…Seriously?” 

“It might seem like shadow-boxing, but it works super well! Anyways, why did you call?” 

Oh nothing much, I was just vacillating between guilt and worry and the overwhelming desire to hear your voice. 

“…I was just wondering if you’re okay.” 

“I’m fine, thank you. And you?” Seven says super formally. “That’s how cliché okay I’m doing. I’m fine if you’re okay. Just don’t open the door to strangers and if you see a wolf in a red hood, ask it to show you its hands and just bang on it with an ax… Oh, but you don’t have an ax there, right? You should get one… Just ignore it then.” 

“A-alright. I’ll definitely ignore any wolves I see, since I’m not a woodcutter and don’t have an ax!” 

“Then, I should get back to work. Time goes by fast when you talk to me right? That’s one of my charms~!” 

“Yeah, one of many.” Oh. Fuck. You’d meant to just think that. 

“W-well, talk to you later! Bye!” 

... 

_WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS_

* * *

You really are overwhelmed by what a shit you are. Seriously. Seven is really obviously suffering, and still all you want to do is talk to him. You’re happy when you see him online! Even though it probably means he’s having a hard time, not that he’s had a sudden dramatic breakthrough, finished his agency work, caught the hacker, and made an army of fire breathing dog robots in the span of a few hours. 

But you’ve just finished shooting off an email to Jaehee asking her to please ensure there’s a place to park an oil truck, just in case, when you see him log on. And you immediately dive headfirst into the chatroom. 

But of course, he’s not had a breakthrough, and he _is_ suffering and you _do_ feel bad. You try to comfort him as best you can, but you’re honestly not really sure what the best thing to say is. You feel like you’re seeing cracks in a mask, and you kind of want to just dig your fingers into the cracks and peel the rest away… But… If the cracks are hurting him, wouldn’t the tearing just hurt him more…? Your curiosity isn’t worth his suffering. 

So why do you still feel curiosity? 

Oh, right, because you’re a **bad person.** Like you haven’t been over this a hundred times, hahaha… 

…Is it because he’s an agent…? Does he really work for the DIA? Or is it something a lot more dangerous…? You feel like it must be. He seemed so desperate when he told you not to be curious about him, or you’d get hurt. And isn’t he right? You got super curious, and you’re hurting. But isn’t that because of you, not because of him? 

In the end, you’d like to travel to the moon with him, too. Because whatever is hurting him, it HAS to be confined to earth, right? If you just took off into outer space… Well. That’s stupid. But it’s a nice thought. It’s not like you have anything keeping you here. You’d been completely ready to leave this world when you’d jumped in your car and come to this city, this apartment. You’d been so sure that’d be it… That however it ended, in a bang or a whimper, it would at least be _over._

Going into space with Seven…

At least then there’d be something to look forward to. Not just bleak acceptance of the dull, everyday awfulness of life, and not just the endless darkness. Either nothingness, or Hell… Compared to those, the moon sounds wonderful. 

Ugh. 

You get super depressed late at night. 

You should just try to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how this feels after 4 chapters of solid fluff. Probably not like much since you all knew it was coming lol. 
> 
> Chapters are gonna be getting longer now and my editor is on vacation, so expect updates to slow for a bit. 
> 
> Also, I didn't expect it to be an actual vote, but everyone started mashing the C button pretty hard so I got a question. 
> 
> Did you guys mean "one porno with maid-Yu and also one porno with leash and collar Yu" or "please write a porno with maid-Yu on a leash and collar dear god KINK INTERSECTION" because I'm genuinely uncertain as to how far into the rabbit hole y'all are. (I mean I'm probably further in, I'm the one writing this shit, but still.)


	6. Day 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The next chapter will be late."  
> "*updates exactly on time*" 
> 
> My editor rallied fantastically~ I wasn't expecting to catch up to her. I don't think she was expecting me to catch up to her either. Making her work on the holidays... tbh working for me is basically working for Jumin, so always be careful what you volunteer for. :| I'm also the kind of person who creates more work to cope when I'm stressed...

You wind up not being able to sleep… At all. You even give up entirely, get dressed, and go up to the roof to stare at the sky. It’s a beautiful, clear night. 

Nights like this make you want to believe in God again. 

It seems like Seven does, and you bet his life is much harder than yours. You feel sort of weak for losing your faith… But with everything that’s happened… You just woke up one day and realized you didn’t believe in God and weren’t really sure you ever had. You must have, at some point. But that belief had just faded away without you even noticing. Like your childhood… You couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment it was gone, but it had definitely left sometime. 

Your depressing but peaceful reverie is broken by the ting of an email… but not to the app. Your actual email address. You glance at it idly; you keep up with your email really closely since mostly it’s comments from readers. But this… 

You think at first it’s spam, but… 

M.C. Yu, **RFA**

…… 

You feel a chill shoot down and back up your spine. **No one** should know you’re in the RFA. No one. And they definitely shouldn’t know your fucking email, too! 

You _rocket_ back down to the apartment, slam the numbers on the keypad, and bolt through the door, slamming it shut behind you. Then you check every square inch of the apartment, like you had jokingly with Seven before. But dead serious. The window is locked. No one’s in the closet, or under the bed. Has anything been moved? Who knows you’re here?! Who knows you joined the RFA?! Is it the hacker?! 

You wind up sitting on the absolute corner of your bed, back in the corner of the wall. Nervously, you open the email. 

Mint Eye… Our paradise… The place where everyone’s happy…? What the hell…? Is this some kind of cult? You’d think it just spam, but there’s no links, and it fucking says “RFA.” Seven didn’t put your email on some kind of list, did he? No, he would never. Or, was it part of the information he’d gathered “from” you on the very first day??? Had the databanks been compromised?! 

Someone’s in the messenger. You tab over to it with shaking hands. 

…Fuck. 

Jaehee’s gotten the email too.

* * *

You don't sleep a single minute. Well, you might doze off sitting up, but you wind up jolting back awake in short order. 

Zen’s gotten the email too. 

Zen: “but listen to this;;”  
Zen: “Seven…”  
Zen: “has never really explained to us”  
Zen: “about his career.”  
Zen: “We just assumed that it was some cyber hacking job and kind of ignored it.”  
Zen: “ **But… the more I think about it, the more dangerous it sounds.** ”  
Yu: “Yeah. That’s what I was thinking too. At first I just assumed he worked for the DIA or something…”  
Yu: “But what if it’s something shadier?;;”  
Zen: “Hmm…”  
Zen: “Since he’s an intelligence agent,”  
Zen: “ **don’t you think he made some sort of pledge to never reveal the things he knows?;;** ”  
Zen: “My guess is that”  
Zen: “Seven’s job is to **hack into something to dig out sensitive information** ”  
Zen: “but if you want to do that, you have to **thoroughly hide your info and traces…** ”  
Zen: “Maybe that’s why he uses a strange name.”  
Yu: “707…”  
Zen: “You always see DIA agents on TV~”  
Zen: “If they do one thing wrong and their covers are blown,”  
Zen: “everyone around them plu the organization they work for are put in danger.”  
Zen: “So some even kill themselves before they’re tortured;;”  
Yu: “DON’T SAY THAT!!!”  
Yu: “Don’t ever say that!!!”  
Zen: “Sorry…”  
Zen: “Thinking about it gives me goosebumps…”  
Zen: “But we don’t really know exactly what he does”  
Zen: “so all we can do is guess;;;”  
Zen: “Come to think of it,”  
Zen: “I’ve only seen Seven pay cash”  
Zen: “He doesn’t have any cards.”  
Zen: “And Luciel isn’t his birth name”  
Zen: “And I’ve never heard him talk about his family…”  
Yu: “Yeah…”  
Yu: “I want to know more about him.”  
Yu: “But at the same time…”  
Yu: “Don’t you think that might hurt him…?”  
Zen: “It’s a bit funny saying this…”  
Zen: “But compared to all the years we’ve known each other,”  
Zen: “I don’t think I know much about him”  
Zen: “I even think that you already understand him better than the rest of us;;”  
Zen: “Maybe you’re right, but…”  
Zen: “We’re in the same organization,”  
Zen: “and yet we don’t even know what kind of work he does and how hard he works.”  
Zen: “We didn’t know that he has a maid until a couple days ago;;;”  
Zen: “Maybe V knows a bit more;;” 

V… You hadn’t thought about that. He’d completely skipped your mind. How does he play into this? He seems the closest to Seven… Fuck… Why isn’t he here right now?? Maybe HE could help! Maybe HE wouldn’t be as shitty and useless as you! 

Zen: “A job where I have to hide myself would never suit me;;”  
Zen: “I can’t even imagine that kind of life…”  
Yu: “I’m depressed just thinking about it…”  
Zen: “Yeah.”  
Zen: “He doesn’t have to be the mermaid that turns into sea foam.:  
Yu: “…”  
Zen: “Haha”  
Zen: “Seven told us not to guess around, but I guess I did again, lolol”  
Zen: “I don’t know his exact situation… but if he’s feeling depressed, I hope he cheers up.”  
Zen: “We won’t be able to help with his work,”  
Zen: “but we can be there for him…”  
Zen: “Especially in the area of relationships, I, ZEN, am the best consultant amongst everyone in the RFA”  
Yu: “… uh”  
Yu: “Why are we suddenly talking about relationships?”  
Zen: “Because even intelligence agents need to go on dates.”  
  
Yu: “…Give me advice”  
Yu: OTL

\-----------------------------------------

Your fear over the email mingles with newly ignited fear for Seven’s wellbeing, and the two roll around in an ever-growing snowball in your mind until exhaustion overtakes you. You just pass out on the desk, slumped over and drooling onto one of your arms. When you wake up, it’s a noise from your phone, which is at... 18% battery life. Ugh. You plug it in as you enter the chatroom. 

It’s Seven, and he seems to be feeling a bit better. The sight is so welcome… He meows. It’s like a fucking sunrise. And if his meow is the sunrise, than the selfie he sends is a supernova directly into your face. You’re blind now, but your eyes were burned from your skull while experiencing true glory, so you don’t regret it at all. In fact, you might start your own religion. The name of the religion is Seven in Flannel. You worship the sun. Particularly when the sun is wearing fitted green flannel with the sleeves rolled up, the top two buttons undone, begging for hands to undo just one more… 

Ahem. 

You feel much kinder towards Ms. Vanderwood right now, though, for taking that picture… 

Yu: “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”  
707: “lolol”  
707: “you sound like Jaehee talking about Zen”

If Jaehee feels this when she looks at Zen, you understand her a lot better now. Ah, Jumin’s just entered...

Jumin: “He;;o”  
Jumin: “Hello”

SO. 

CUTE. 

SO GAP MOE. But isn’t Seven also kind of gap moe? He has the potential, to be sure… Though Jumin is more classically—

FUCK 

YOU FORGOT 

Aren’t you supposed to be terrified right now?! The emails! You’d been so blinded by Seven’s beauty that it was incinerated out of your mind!! Thank god for Jumin… 

Yu: “Yeah! I got it too! It was super weird, Seven, it came to my normal email address!”  
707: “OMG”  
Jumin: “Even Yu?”  
707: “I didn’t get it…”  
707: “Mr. Spammer, why are you leaving me out T_T”  
Jumin: “It’d be fine if it’s simply a spam message”  
Yu: “But it was freaky! And we all got it! No one should know I’m in the RFA!!”  
707: “Jumin, Yu”  
707: “forward it to me;”  
707: “I should trace the email just like what Jaehee and Zen said”  
Jumin: “I will”  
Yu: “Okay…”  
Yu: “But… Seven, don’t you have enough work already?”  
707: “Yup. I’m busy!”  
707: “But I can’t miss a single clue!”  
707: “I’ll trace it as soon as I have time.”  
Yu: “You’re the best, God Seven T_T”  
Yu: “To be honest I got a little scared”  
Yu: “But I feel way better thanks to you!”  
707: “I, Seven, am”  
707: “ **always ready to sacrifice myself** ”  
707: “for RFA members, lol”  
Yu: “…sacrifice…?”  
Yu: “T_T”  
Jumin: “then…”  
Jumin: “I was thinking that you should go to Yu yourself to protect her if you finish the work”  
Yu: “Well, that’d be nice…”  
707: “What?”  
Jumin: “Since I can’t send bodyguards”  
707: “I suddenly thought of something to test lol”  
707: “I have to get going!”  
Jumin: “You could at least give me an answer.”  
707: “Nope. Busy.”  
Yu: “Too much of a sacrifice? Or maybe I’m too new to be an RFA member, lol”  
707: “Gahh…”  
707: “I’m ready,”  
707: “ **but if you meet someone like me, your life will get messed up.** ”  
Yu: “I thought you already knew about my life”  
707: “Gahhhh!!!!”  
707: “MY FIRST AND LAST CAT IS ELLY!”  
Yu: “Meow?”  
Jumin: “What in the world are you talking about?”  
Jumin: “Elizabeth the 3rd is not your first cat.”  
707: “Anyways,”  
707: “have a safe flight, Jumin”  
707: “And take care of yourself, okay, Yu??”  
707: “I’ll get going!”  
Yu: “Take care, Seven! Be safe okay!”  
707: “Don’t worry about me.”  
707: “Make sure to keep the door locked!”  
707: “Promise me…!”  
\--707 has left the chatroom—  
Jumin: “It’s a bit funny,”  
Jumin: “but seeing him be ridiculous and annoying again”  
Jumin: “he’s back to the Luciel we know.”  
Yu: “…”  
Yu: “I hope he’s cheered up.”

* * *

You wind up talking with Zen on the phone for a while. You’re getting claustrophobic again, and talking on the phone helps distract you. You’re glad he called. 

“Are you sure, though, Zen? I dunno…” 

“I can totally tell that he’s into you. But considering the life he’s had so far, I’m sure he’s never felt like this towards anyone. So I think he’s just super confused.” 

“But is it okay? I mean, it seems like I’m distracting him…” 

“All men are distracted by this sort of thing! It’s normal! You might not know this, but men aren’t honest creatures.” 

“I knew that.” 

“…You said that really fast… I guess you’re not a naïve one, huh?” 

“Is it cuter to be?” you say with a forced little laugh. “I guess no one’s really interested in jaded women, huh?” 

“N-no, it’s not that! I actually prefer worldlier women. I’m a fan of the mature lady! It’s just, I sensed a tragic backstory for a minute there.” 

“You see tragic backstories everywhere, Zen,” you say with a snort. 

“Well… I think Seven’s one of the least honest guys out there. I don’t know if that’s just because of his job, but look at how secretive he is… He seems happy, but you can tell something’s off.” 

“Yeah… I guess we both see it. You’re pretty insightful, Zen.” 

“I am, right?” 

“It must be women’s intuition.” 

“Hey! I’m a manly guy, you know! I’m just saying, he might actually be the type to draw the line on his own and hide his feelings. Men like that don’t seem interested in you at first, but once they get deep into it, they will go crazy. It’s just that they don’t know how to act at first because they’ve never felt that way before. Honestly, liking and loving someone doesn’t have any answers… But I’m glad you came to me for advice.” 

“Thanks… big sis.” 

“Oy! Again? Come on~ I’m like the manliest man around. Do I have to show you another shirtless selfie?” 

“It wouldn’t matter. I was blinded by the sun itself…” 

“Eh? Don’t stare into the sun! It’s bad for your eyes.” 

“But if it’s the sun, wouldn’t it be okay to be blind?” 

“When you start sounding like Seven, I lose the ability to understand you.” 

“Alright. How’s this? Big siiiiis! Sis, bring me bungeoppang! Come brush my hair!” 

“You! …Actually, that does sound nice. Do you have long hair? Seven’s the only one who knows what you look like, lucky bastard…” 

You snort. “Yeah. Super long… I’ve been thinking about cutting it.” 

“Awww, why? It takes so long to grow it out. Don’t you think long hair is prettier? Like mine~” 

“I’m not sure. Isn’t Jaehee cute? I think her hair is so attractive and modern.” 

“She only cuts it like that because Jumin wants it short. Isn’t that insane?” 

“Oh, does Jumin prefer short hair too?” 

“You don’t have to consider what he likes!!” 

“Oh—I’ve got a call. I’ll talk to you later, Zen!” You pause, then switch to the new call. “Seven?” 

“Shhhh!” He called you, but he’s shushing you…? “Just three seconds… Okay, good. Go ahead.” 

“…Good morning?” you say uncertainly. You kind of want to know what’s going on, but now you’re kind of worried the call is bugged or something. 

“It’s morning already? Oh… Good morning! Sleep well? I was busy analyzing the email… I must have fell asleep on my desk.” 

“That’s not good for you,” announces Yu, hypocrite extraordinaire. How many times have you done that? And you just did it last night... and before... you’ve only been here a few days but you’ve probably slept on the desk more than the bed. “I should carry you to bed and tuck you in!” you add cutely. 

Seven laughs. “Do you think you could carry me…? I’m pretty tall, you know.” 

“Are you? How tall are you?” you ask excitedly. 

“A-a-ahhh… should I tell you? A hacker’s privacy is so important…” 

“Tell me! I’ll tell you something about me you don’t know!” 

“Oh! Who could resist that? Alright… I’m 175 centimeters!” 

“Whoa… you’re like twenty centimeters taller than me…” 

“I already knew that, though!” 

“Sneaky! Okay, uuuummm… blood type—“ 

“AB positive.” 

“How?!” 

“You list it on your OKCupid.” 

“Th-that profile is like six years old! I totally forgot about it!” 

“The internet never forgets. Try again.” 

“Ahm… I’m trying to think of something that’s not a security question.” 

“Worried I’ll hack you?” 

“Worried you’ll hack me MORE!” you laugh. “Okay, um… Something good… Oh! I know. I can still fit into my high school uniform!” 

“Congratulations! Why is that something good, though…?” 

“Oh, you’re not interested? Wooow! I’m impressed! I wonder what Zen’s reaction would be if I told him?” 

“Wh—gah! Where does your mind live?!” 

“Should I send him a selfie? I’ve got one of me wearing it…” 

“No!” 

“Or maybe I should post it into the chat to get opinions? I can say, Seven wasn’t interested in this… what do you guys think?” 

“Do not! …Although it might be worth it, just for Yoosung’s education…” 

Now it’s your turn to laugh. “He knows how to use the internet, so I’m sure he’s already really educated when it comes to pictures.” 

“Ah… more work just came up,” Seven sighs. “I’m worried that I haven’t been doing my agency work these past few days. That’s the only reason why I’m alive… but I keep getting distracted. I’m getting greedy…” 

“…The **only reason you’re alive**?” you say, voice jumping up half an octave. 

“Oh, forget you heard that. I should just be grateful that I have a place to work at… I’m so ungrateful.” 

“I-if it’s a place like that, do you really need gratitude…? It seems like you do plenty of work for them… You should seriously get more rest!” 

He sighs. “You think? I just can’t focus… I have **someone’s** face popping up inside my mind every minute…” Oh good, you almost weren’t guilty for a full five minutes there. “Still, I should take your advice and get some rest… Thanks for worrying.” 

“It’s no problem…” 

“Sorry, but I really have to hang up… There’s so much work piling up and so little time. I’m sorry. I’ll talk to you later.” 

And gone. You sigh. You should be working too… maybe that’ll kill this stabbing in your chest.

* * *

Jumin… called Yoosung’s mother. 

You’re not really sure why, but it’s kind of funny to you? Maybe you shouldn’t laugh… you don’t know the relationship between Yoosung and his mother. If someone called your mother and told her about how YOU were living, well… She either wouldn’t care at all, or would come to send you to Hell herself, hahah… You’d definitely be in more danger from her than any hacker… 

Or who knew… She might surprise you. If you could get Jumin Han to say he was planning to hire you after you finished your very respectable work for the elite charity organization RFA… She’d probably un-disown you on the spot. 

To be honest though, you’re mostly just amused, happy for the distraction, and looking forward to seeing what happens. And you really needed the distraction, so you’re firmly in camp Jumin Han for this one. You’re pretty sure you’re the only one… except maybe Mrs. Kim. 

At least if Jumin called YOUR mom, she wouldn’t be able to get in, hahaha. You could totally withstand a siege in here. You’d just be eating rice and kimchi by the end of it, but you’d survive. That door is stainless steel under the paint, you’re pretty sure… it’s heavy. 

What kind of secrets are in here, anyway…? You had been so busy the last few days that you hadn’t really been thinking about it. All the drama with the hackers… is it because of the information in this place? You chew on your lip, walking over to the desk and running a finger over one of the locked drawers. Wouldn’t an alarm go off if you opened it…? You don’t have the key, so you’d have to force it open. Same with the lockers. You’d need something like a welding torch to get into them. You’d definitely be kicked out of the RFA for something like that… 

But maybe you should snoop around and see what you can find that isn’t locked away… 

No one has to know but you.

* * *

You don’t find anything too terribly interesting… anything important must be locked away. Also, it’s boring to shift through the logistics to try and find anything juicy. It’ll take you a long time, and you have to keep stopping to work on the actual real-life party that’s being held in like five days. As if it wasn’t hard enough to prepare in such a short period of time, to do so with all this insanity happening in the background… Well, let’s just say that if the party is a success, the entire RFA better get down on their knees to praise you. Well. You and Jaehee. And Seven. …Ugh, okay, you guess it IS a group effort. From everyone but V, who you’re beginning to resent. Hopefully he’ll be back soon. He’s probably on a trip to take photos to auction at the party, so you try not to be too bitter. 

You munch absentmindedly on the weird honey butter puffs you’d acquired from the nearest convenience store. They’re not Honey Buddha chips, obviously. You couldn’t find those. But they’re the closest thing you could get, and you’d wanted to have a sweet snack of your own to feel closer to Seven. 

And also because you like junk food. 

With a sigh, you grab your phone. You’re bored of working and snooping both, but you’re scared to leave the apartment… You should just call Seven. Just for a bit. He probably needs to be reminded to take a break anyway, right? 

Seven answers the phone… with such a weird noise you’re worried he’s injured. “Time, time!” he manages to exclaim, then takes a few deep breaths. 

“Seven?! Are you okay? Is everything alright?” you exclaim. What if something bad has happened? What if you fucked something up by calling? Oh God! 

“Phew. I wanted to take deep breaths before taking the call but my finger just pressed the button on its own! You know, when you call me and I see your name on the screen, my heart starts racing!” …What kind of confession is this?! You just called to make sure he was remembering to eat! “Just like when I discover Yoosung doing something nice in LOLOL and think of a way to interfere! My heart races just the same.” Alright… uh… maybe not. What would you call that kind of a feeling…? 

“I feel like it’s literally going to explode! What’s wrong with me? I thought my heart stopped from the shock I received once while repairing my car engine… now it’s flopping around like a fish!” …Too much caffeine, maybe? If he’s been up for a long time... But then he chuckles and says, “Yu… You must be the best lubricant for my heart’s engine.” 

… 

WHO ALLOWED YOU TO SAY A THING LIKE THAT?! 

Your cheeks are bright red. Ooooh, this sneak! Talking about his, his racing heart and all that! You’ll get him back! “You must be the shining star for my heart,” you say as sweetly as possible. It’s not that good of a line… You were on the spot! But it seems to work. 

“You’re joking right…?” Only if **he** was. “Don’t get me wrong, I like hearing it… But I’m just going to think it’s a joke. If I don’t, I’m going to get even weirder than I am right now…” 

“Feel free to be as weird as you want,” your mouth says, all on its own, without asking you first. 

“You really should stay stuff like that!” Seven whines. “I keep thinking about what you’d think of me, you know. You don’t… talk about me behind my back or anything like that, do you? Do you think I’m a nice person? I want to get to know you better, and ask all these sorts of questions… Oh, but don’t answer them!” he says quickly, and you pout. You’d been about to, in detail. “I shouldn’t be thinking that way in the first place.” 

“I don’t really see anything wrong with it…” 

“I can’t! I can’t be thinking this stuff. What the hell is wrong with me? Am I finally going crazy? But I thought I was already crazy!” he lets out a long, frustrated groan. 

“I guess I kind of stole your sanity…” you say apologetically. 

“Did you? If you did, give it back!” he protests. “Seriously! Give it back! I mean it, I’m really weird right now! I can’t focus on anything else if something’s going on with you. Give me back my sanity!” 

“Well, if I could…” 

“You can’t? No…. I have to see you if I want it back, right? Then I can’t get it. I need to avoid you.” That’s… super depressing to hear, but you keep your mouth shut. You don’t need to make him feel any WORSE… “But I can’t,” he whines. “Thinking that I have to avoid you makes me feel seriously upset…” Well, at least that makes two of you. “I’m seriously all over the place… I’m acting so strange… I’m forgetting my place…” 

“Your place?” 

“Oh, forget the last part,” he says quickly. “I need to go straighten out my thoughts. Call me if anything happens.” 

… He hung up… 

All this not knowing is going to drive YOU crazy. If you stole his sanity, you’re starting to think he stole yours back out of revenge.

* * *

You feel a bit better about yourself when you realize Seven is also kind of curious about what’s going to happen with Yoosung. You feel like in this situation… he would hand you binoculars while you handed him popcorn… Zen’s pissed, though. But, haha, when is Zen not pissed at Jumin? That’s like a comforting constant. Those two bickering always gives you energy to write. Your new piece is really popular, too. M/M stuff is always the most popular, but people are saying the couple has seriously sexy chemistry. 

Hahaha… Hahahahahahaha! Man… you wish you could tell them. 

But more importantly! Seven’s found out something about the fucking email!! Why didn’t he mention that sooner?! Just as you suspected, it’s not just random spam. It was the hacker! And you’d also been right about the hacker being after the information… probably related to the secrets here in the apartment. This was why V had been so anal about keeping your location secret, and you not reading anything. There’s definitely some serious stuff here… 

You should find it. 

You don’t say that, of course… You’re certain you’d get in serious trouble if anyone found out. But you don’t really intend to let this go. There’s definitely something going on here. You can’t find out what’s going on with Seven—you can’t investigate his “agency.” That’s bothering you enough. But if you can find out what’s going on with the RFA, you might be able to help. …And even if you can’t help, you just want to fucking know. What information is so valuable? Why were you sent here?! It involves you, so you can’t just not investigate yourself. 

Seven is taking too much onto himself anyway. He knows their address, so he’s going to go? ALONE? Isn’t that a really bad idea? Well, he’s a secret agent so he knows what he’s doing, but you really hate the idea of him going alone. Can’t he take some of Jumin’s bodyguards with him, in case something happens, at the very least? You’d rather go yourself, of course… You’re no secret agent, but you have your own experiences, and you’d spent seven years learning hapkido… You’re not helpless. 

Well, if he won’t let you help, you just won’t ask for permission. You’re going to see about getting into some of these locked drawers. If you pull the desk away from the wall, you can get a better look at maybe getting in from the sides or back. That might keep an alarm from going off…

* * *

After a while of trying and failing to break into literally anything in the room, you get frustrated. You’ve got like 500,000 won in cash! You’re going out to buy some supplies, damnit. You’re going to go out, get on a bus, and find a hardware store. You shove your clothing bags from yesterday into your backpack. You can put the hardware bags in them… It’ll just look like you’re going clothes shopping again when Seven sees you come back on the CCTV. Thank God there’s no cameras inside here… 

You half-expect him to call you when he sees you leaving, but he doesn’t. Maybe Vanderwood is on watch right now? You quickly head out of the building and down to the bus stop. You don’t look up hardware stores on your phone… You don’t know how much effort Seven would actually put into spying on you, but it’s much better to leave no traces. Fortunately, you have practice with that sort of thing… between your parents and your ex, you know exactly how to keep your movements secret. Instead, you ask the bus driver if there are any hardware stores along his route, and he’s able to give directions. You idly look at the websites for various restaurants and stores in your neighborhood while the bus drives you away. Just in case. 

\--

The tools are kind of heavy… but you pack them into the clothing bags and buy a few random shirts and stockings to throw on top. Your heart is pounding as you carry the bags up to the door, trying very hard to look like they don’t weigh much. You breathe evenly to calm yourself as you enter the keycode and push the door open. Once you get them inside… 

The phone rings and thank god you’re out of view of the camera, because you jump straight up and nearly drop one of the bags. You drag the other one in and let the door close before answering. Fuck… it’s Seven. Fuck. Fuck. Did he see something? Fuck. Fuck! Okay, okay, stay calm. You don’t even know if he’s suspicious yet. 

“It’s me. Where are you? Inside, right? I was surprised to see you walking down the hallway. Where did you go?” 

“You didn’t see me leave? Vanderwood must have been watching…” you reply. “I just went out shopping… I was feeling a little claustrophobic, staying inside all day.” 

“You should stay at home right now… I’m so glad nothing bad happened to you.” 

“Don’t worry too much, Seven. I’m fine,” you reassure him, trying not to show any nervousness yourself. “I just get twitchy if I stay inside too much. Don’t worry, I stayed around here.” 

“There’s… there’s something that’s bothering me right now.” 

You swallow, fighting to keep your voice even. “Oh?” 

“Don’t you think I’m pathetic? I call myself a genius, but it’s taking me this long to catch a hacker.” 

It takes a lot of self-control for you not to let out a sigh of relief. For once, you’re glad he’s distracted… “Ha! Not at all. I don’t even know how one goes about catching a hacker! I’m pretty smart too, you know, but I wouldn’t even know where to start with that sort of thing.” 

“Thanks for saying that,” he says with a little chuckle. “I really have to focus now, but your voice has been playing inside my head nonstop today. So… I feel a bit more relaxed when I call you.” 

You swallow. “Well, you can call me whenever,” you say, and find yourself meaning it, even though it’d be bad if he called you while you were in the middle of breaking into a security system **he installed.**

“I might need to. Once I hang up, your voice starts playing again. What should I do? I keep hearing it and I don't know why... Maybe your voice has a unique frequency. I want to test it out next time. Strange... I keep wanting to hear it.” 

“…Test it out? What do--” You must not have done a good enough job dusting before, because suddenly your nose itches. You sneeze directly into the phone before covering your mouth. “Oh…! I’m so sorry!” you say, cheeks burning. 

“Hahaha! So cute... Yeah! I wanted to hear that sneeze too… God... This is so strange... I suddenly felt super hot! Amazing. Can I record it and listen to it? I want to figure out the cause.” 

“Record it?” you ask, equal parts embarrassed, intrigued, and amused. 

“Oh! I must sound like a creeper right now. Don't worry. I know what I said but I haven't recorded your voice or anything. I’m just joking!” 

“…Are you?” you ask teasingly. “You want me to say something cute for the recording?” 

“N-no! There’s no recording!” 

“You have to tell me what sort of things you like, though… I’m not sure what your tastes are…” 

“Gaaaah! I’m going to hang up now!” 

“No, you’re not,” you say with a grin. “If I ask nicely, you’ll stay, right? Like this?” You put on a cutsie voice as best you can. “God Seven~ Please don’t leave your servant all alone~ …Hmm… Is servant right? Do you prefer worshipper? Or… slave?” 

“S-seriously! Why are you like this? This is dangerous, you know! What if you get involved in strange things because of me? If something happens and I get caught, and they find your voice file in my hard disc, they'll target you.” Your smile fades as if it had never been there. Yeah, is this really the time for this? You’re seriously shameless… But… “Anyways... I don't want anyone to get in danger because of me from now on...” 

“I’m fine, I—“ you begin, intending to tell him a bit about your past, that you can handle yourself more than he seems to think. That’s what you were _going_ to say… 

“I’M NOT FINE!” he shouts. You hadn’t been expecting it all—he’s never shouted at you. You flinch away from the phone, heart seizing in your chest. “O-oh, um, I-I,” he stammers. “I’m sorry for yelling… I’m just not fine with this. It’s seriously dangerous. Good people like you have to stay in this world and do good things.” 

“…Good people…” you murmur, eyes tracing over the bags of tools. Good people and good things… Hahaha… 

You seriously don’t know anything about each other, do you? 

“You can't get involved in bad incidents because of people like me...” Seven is continuing. “Didn't I tell you this before? That hackers are like the cockroaches of the internet... So don't hang around with hackers. And even more so with secret agents. For you... a man with a good honest job... and a normal background... might be better but...” 

You snort. “Like Yoosung?” 

“Yeah! Like Yoosung! But… Aargh....! I think my head is overloaded. I keep saying weird things. I just need to hang up. No, but… Uhm… Could you say goodbye for me, just this once?” 

“Want to record it?” 

“No!” 

Revenge. “Goodbye~” You let out a little, breathy throat noise. “I’ll see you later~ Mmm~” 

The sound Seven makes seriously isn’t comprehensible at all, hahaha. God, you’re such a shitty person. You’re the literal worst, but it’s funny. “I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight!! You did that on purpose right??? Ugh… Seriously… When you’re like that, I keep forgetting my place…” 

“Your place again… I’d like to know what your place is, since it’s such a problem,” you say with a frown. 

“This isn’t the time for this. I need to go.” 

“Seven—“ 

“I'll get back to work. Be safe, okay?” 

… He hung up. 

You glare at the phone, as if it’s its fault. Then you toss it back onto the bed, grip your “clothing” bags, and drag them the rest of the way into the room. 

Good people need to do good things… 

But you’re not good people, and you need to do this.

* * *

You’re a bit irritated at Seven, but it fades quickly as you spread out tools on the ground. You’re kind of betraying his trust right now, haha, so you really don’t have the right to be angry with him for not trusting you more. You wind up a bit paralyzed with uncertainty, so to distract yourself, you record some messages for Seven. It takes you a while to figure out how to send them to him through the messenger. You figure it out, though… and how to send images, too! You can finally send people selfies. You should take a bunch… Er… in the bathroom, since your bed is covered with screwdrivers and drills and lockpicks right now, hahaha… 

You record a few different clips. The first thing that comes to mind is a perfect mimicry of “Honey! I love you!” from your very first phone call. Then they just keep coming… 

“Have you eaten? Chips don’t count!”  
“Don’t forget to stretch! You’re not hunched over, are you?”  
“God Seven! Your disciple will always support you!”  
“Are you feeling good? I hope so~”  
“Nyaa~ Oppa! Don’t forget to rest, meow!”  
“Don’t stay up~~ Come to bed with me, sweetie~~~” 

Guh, that last one almost made you gag while saying it, hahaha. He’s gonna kill you. He’ll probably just delete them, but… You even do one that’s just you meowing and trying to purr and saying insipid things about petting. You might short circuit his brain… But it’s the revenge you need right now, and a light-hearted distraction. 

Alright… time to look more closely at this… You’ve just slid back against the wall and are examining the desk when the phone rings. Fortunately, you kept it right next to you in case Seven called. It’s Yoosung, though. 

“Ah—Yeah—That’s rough—“ you say at appropriate times as he cries about the state of things with his mother. You’re good at listening, or seeming like you’re listening. You might not retain it, but you can get through the conversation while still focusing on your work. “That sucks, omg~” Geez, what did they do to these screws?! When Seven designs something to be hard to get into, he doesn’t fuck around, does he? “I’m sure she’s just doing it because she cares!” 

You really don’t want to do any damage to the desk. You have to be able to put everything right back so no one can tell what you did… Otherwise you’ll seriously be in trouble. You don’t want to see what Jumin Han really is capable of doing when pushed to it. 

“Why do I get the feeling like you’re enjoying this?” Yoosung is saying on the phone. 

“Me? Enjoying your suffering? I would never! What kind of person do you think I am?” 

“…Oh, what’s this… My hands are calling Seven all on their own—“ 

“Wait,” you say, lowering the drill. “What—“ 

“Omg! They’re just doing a conference call on their own!” 

“Yoosung, don’t—“ 

“Yeah? Something up?” comes Seven’s voice. Then a click. …That… that bastard… he hung up… 

“Uh…” you say. 

“It’s you?” Seven says, sounding shocked. “I thought it was Yoosung… Is everything alright?” 

“Um, yes… How are you?” 

“…Did you call just to ask that? I’m fine.” 

“Did you eat dinner?” 

“Is it that late already? I had no idea… Well, sometimes I even forget the days passing. I haven’t been sleeping the past few days. Work is just never ending…” 

“Yeah, I guess you haven’t even had time to check your messages.” 

“If you mean whatever you sent, I’m not going to open that while Vanderwood is here. I know you too well.” 

You snort. “Damn! I didn’t even think about that. Open it the next time you go to the bathroom, okay?” 

“Alright. You need to sleep, though. It’s getting late… You can’t do anything unless you’re healthy. Health is your greatest asset.” 

“You take care of yourself, too. And get some sleep,” you say with a frown. It’s true you haven’t really been sleeping either, but you haven’t been working as hard as Seven—ah! This screw is coming loose! 

“Well… That’s not really important for me. My work is more important than my body. People say I’m the best in the industry, but I’m sure someone will replace me if I disappear. So it doesn’t really matter, even if I disappear.” 

You pause, lowering the screwdriver. “Hey, don’t say that! It matters to me. Please, take care of yourself!” 

Seven sighs. It sounds like it’s right in your ear. You shiver a little against the wall. “You’re so nice. You don’t need to be nice to people like me, though.” 

You’re getting a little frustrated. If only you could shake him through the phone. If he knew what you were doing right now, he wouldn’t think you were so nice! …He can’t find out though, hahaha… 

“Do you want to hear something funny?” he asks. “I have to wear disguises a lot since I’m a secret agent. Haha, so I have a lot of costumes.” OH, you don’t need to be thinking this right now. “Other agents sometimes seem to think that I like cosplay or crossdressing.” 

“Do you, uh… not like it?” you ask, voice a bit strained. “Because, I mean, you look really good…” 

“I mean, I do enjoy doing it…. But it was a bit awkward to actually say that. You know what I mean?” 

“I like it, though. Er, um, I mean, that is to say… I think that… Uh… You… Er…” 

Seven laughs. “Well, to be honest, I think I do anything if I get paid for it.” 

“oH,” you say, your voice raising about three octaves and cracking. What’s his going rate? You should have saved the money Jumin gave you, hahaha… 

“Hey, what’s that sound?” Seven asks suddenly. Your eyes skip to the screwdriver and metal desk. Shit! Did it make a noise? “It sounds like music?” 

“…Oh, THAT. Yeah, I’m playing some music. It helps me focus on work.” 

“You’re great to be still working on the party in all of this.” 

You stare long and hard at the back of the desk. “…Yeah.” 

“That’s my favorite, too. I enjoy walking around incognito, in just jeans and a hoodie with my headphones on. I just play a rhythm game inside my brain and let my body enjoy the beat! That’s my freedom!” 

He sounds so happy… “That does sound really nice. I get too paranoid of someone sneaking up on me to wear my headphones out…” 

“…Do you live in a bad neighborhood, to have to worry about that?” 

“Uh… Er, yeah. I hung out in a pretty rough neighborhood. You didn’t know?” 

“No… You should be careful. But the neighborhood there is pretty good, so you should be fine! Oh, but don’t go out right now. You should stay inside.” 

“I miss my car,” you say with a sigh. “It’s tough not being able to just go for a drive.” 

“That’s how I clear my head too! Do you… want to go on a drive with me some time? I feel like I’ll become a much better driver if you sit beside me. I’m good now… but I just want you to stay beside me.” 

Your tongue feels like it gets stuck in your throat as you swallow. “O-of course. I’d love to sit beside you and go for a drive.” 

“Really?” He sounds so excited… God… So cute. You set down the screwdriver. Fuck, you really can’t do this right now. “You promised, okay? I don’t know when it will be, but if you just hop on, I’ll give you the best ride of your life!” You make a little choking noise that you hope he doesn’t hear. “I feel like I’m going to smile the whole time.” 

“Can I drive too? To be honest, I’ve been wanting to drive one of your cars this entire time… The red one especially. I’ve never driven a car like that.” 

“Of course, if you want! You’ll still be beside me even if I sit in the passenger seat. That’s all I need. …I feel a bit embarrassed after actually saying it. I hope I haven’t said something weird again.” 

“What, like, just hop on and I’ll give you the best ride of your life?” 

“…Oh God.” 

“Mmhmm.” 

“I’m sorry!” 

“Why, didn’t you mean it?” 

“I have to work now! Bye!”

* * *

You managed to make some progress on the desk, despite your guilt. You got the back panel off! But when you opened it… there were fucking WIRES. Wires! That’s not normal at all! The must be for an alarm system, just like you thought. Good thing you thought to go in the back… but you still can’t get into the drawers from here… 

You’re taking a break now. Cramming yourself back there had you really sore. And you do need to actually do work on the real party. You’ve got emails building up. Time to focus on your actual work for a while. Haha… Isn’t your actual work writing? You haven’t had time today, and you don’t see that changing until after the party. You’ll have to explain to your readers eventually… but you’ll worry about it later. 

How many people are you even communicating with right now? You’ve totally lost count. Fortunately it’s easy to thumb back over the old messages and remind yourself who they are… and you’re keeping really organized so that you can pull up any paper records you have for the guests that have gone to parties in the past. Being organized is the key to handling any kind of work! …But seriously, some of these people are really weird. You’re having to completely switch your persona between every email. It’s making you dizzy! And this stupid representative of the Smoke Free group Zen recommended… He just wants you to berate him! Between him and Yoosung, you feel like you should be charging!! Ugh! 

“Don’t stop us now~ the moment of truth~” Ah. Your phone… You grab it and glance at the number. It’s Seven again? You guys are really talking a lot! Or… no… no, actually, it’s been like four hours, hasn’t it? You just got sidetracked working. Either way. 

\--

You sit cross-legged in the middle of the floor, right on your silly plush pink carpet. Your phone is on the floor in front of you. You’re just blankly staring at it, thinking about the conversation you just had with Seven. 

… You… can’t quite process it, honestly. He’d unexpectedly told you something like that. Three days in a boiler room. He almost died. You’d known he did dangerous things, but hearing about it like that made you feel all twisted up inside. Like stabbing in your chest. 

He’d compared you to the sun. You feel that way about him. 

He’d called you a good person, but he thinks himself bad. You feel the same way… 

You stare blankly at the tools. 

You’re not going to get anything else done on the desk right now. You need… you need to go for a walk. Maybe up to the roof again. 

You need to figure out what you’re doing with Seven, and if your feelings are worth twisting both of you up this much. You need to clear your mind. You need to think. You won’t be able to focus like this.

* * *

You’re still on the roof when you see Seven in the chatroom. It’s kind of nice to talk to him in here. You’ve been on the phone a lot, and it’s great to hear his voice… but right now you kind of appreciate reading his words. Also, it’s easier to be cute, even when you’re feeling complicated. 

707: “You’re still up?”  
Yu: “Yeah. Seven, I was waiting for you~”  
707: “Me?”  
707: “Oh… Were you waiting for me because you’re nervous?”  
707: “I’m sorry.”  
707: “I’m sure you must be so nervous about the hacker.”  
707: “I’m sorry I can’t do anything more for you safety.”  
Yu: “It’s not that! I’m fine, and you’re so busy.”  
Yu: “I’m not that nervous.”  
Yu: “I’m keeping busy.”  
Yu: “Did you get ahold of V yet?”  
707: “I tried…”  
707: “But it seems V doesn’t have any service right now.”  
Yu: “I guess he’s somewhere really far off…”  
707: “I left a voice message, so he’ll call me as soon as he hears it.”  
707: “All the RFA members, including you…”  
707: “must be careful for the time being…” 

Oh, like maybe not sitting on the roof out in the open, huh… But you doubt anyone else would be up here. 

707: “ **Please… I hope no one gets hurt because I wasn’t good enough…** ”  
Yu: “You’re trying this hard!”  
Yu: “There’s no way that the members will be harmed. Don’t worry!”  
707: “That’s… that’s not always the case…”  
707: “You can say that because you don’t know much about me.”  
707: “Yu…”  
707: “I don’t think I’ve told you much about myself.”  
Yu: “Well…”  
707: “ **what kind of work I do for the agency** ”  
707: “And dark things like that.”  
707: “To be honest…”  
707: “I wanted to show people in the RFA”  
707: “only my bright and fun side.”  
707: “Because the work I do is nothing but dark and filthy.”  
707: “I didn’t want to tell anyone about that.”  
Yu: “Well… our situations are probably pretty different.”  
Yu: “But I think it’s normal to want people you like to only see the best and brightest parts of you.”  
Yu: “To be honest”  
Yu: “If it’s you, I find myself wanting you to see other sides of me too”  
Yu: “But at the same time, I also want you to only see the happy stuff”  
Yu: “If that makes sense”  
707: “It does”  
707: “Now that this is happening… I feel like I should talk about it a little.”  
707: “Because if anything happens…”  
707: “if anything bad happens because of me…”  
707: “you… and all the other members”  
707: “will be in so much shock…”  
Yu: “I trust nothing bad will happen.”  
Yu: “…But I want to know what you do.”  
707: “To be honest, the place I work for”  
707: “is a complete **shithole** ”  
707: “where even a mindless joke can get you killed.”  
Yu: “?!”  
707: “So it’s actually weird”  
707: “to say that nothing bad will happen.”  
707: “It’s the only path I could choose, so I don’t want to whine about it.”  
707: “But… I want you to know this.”  
707: “Nothing good will come out of you knowing me.”  
707: “I’m not a clean and bright person…”  
707: “And”  
707: “since you can be put in danger because of me,”  
707: “ **we need to keep our distance…** ”  
707: “If we’re like how we are now, where we can’t meet”  
707: “and you’re neither friend nor family, you’ll be safe.”  
Yu: “That’s… that’s too sad.”  
Yu: “You’re saying we can’t even be friends?”  
707: “I don’t know”  
707: “You and me…”  
707: “did we ever have any kind of relationship?” 

… 

707: “We just talked a bit”  
707: “here in this chatroom…” 

Oh… well… You suppose, when you say it like that, haha… 

707: “And of course, I enjoyed all those conversations… but even those are pointless.”  
707: “You know…”  
707: “I only tried to laugh as much as I can in this chatroom,”  
707: “because of the dark place I’m really in.”  
707: “This shithole… is probably the place that suits me best.” 

To be honest… to be honest… 

Your heart hurts like you’ve been stabbed, but to be honest… 

Him saying that makes you feel more like you have to save him. 

A shithole could never be the best place for Seven, because he’s brighter than the sun. Hiding could never really suit him, because everyone naturally would want to stare at his light. People talk about Zen being a sparkling diamond, but to be honest, from the first day, Seven’s been the one you couldn’t look away from. The only reason more people don’t see that is probably because he tries so hard to hide himself. 

You’re hurting. Your chest feels like there’s a hole. 

But you’re also really determined. 

After Seven leaves the chatroom, you head back to your room and slide back behind the desk. If you can do even this… Anything… to help lessen the burden… 

You’re going to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're over halfway now. Boo... what am I gonna do for stress relief after this project is done...? 
> 
> As much as this killed me, I have to admit it's been really nice, producing and putting out content at this speed. *sigh* Don't get spoiled, new followers. My normal update speed is every one or two weeks. And it's even worse if you're only here for ONE of my fandoms, since I produce content for like... three... at this point. 
> 
> Oh, but don't you fans of this story fuss too much. The chapters keep getting longer from here... ;-; I'm wondering how I survived writing this again...


	7. Day 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some NSFW riiiight at the start here! Be prepared! There's wang! It's also the last NSFW for a while, so treasure it.

“I’m going out to get some food. All you have in here is chips and soda! Ugh… disgusting. How do you live like this? Just stay right there and work! Don’t even think about moving!” 

Vanderwood had left. Hard to say how long she’d be gone for… But now is an opportunity to do some work on the RFA side of things. And also… 

Seven glances idly at his phone and the unopened files Yu sent. She’d said to open them when he had some privacy. Well, she’d said in the bathroom, actually, but he assumed she meant that to mean “in private.” That made his heart seriously pound and his skin go a bit clammy. What on earth had she sent? She hadn’t even been able to figure out selfies yet! 

There are a lot of files… 

Ah well, how long could it take? He’d just open one. 

“Honey~! I love you~~~” 

Seven nearly jumps out of his chair. He hadn’t been expecting that! There… there's a kissing noise at the end? What the—

This... this is because of what he said about recording her voice. 

Of course. 

Guuuuuh, why had he said that?! 

Why are there so many?? 

“Nyaa~ Oppa! Don’t forget to rest, meow!” 

Seven blushes bright crimson. His heart is going to jump out of his chest! No wonder she wanted him to open them where Vanderwood couldn’t hear! 

H-her calling him oppa… isn’t the worst thing… 

“Don’t stay up~~ Come to bed with me, sweetie~~~” 

Oh sweet merciful God in heaven. 

…And she’d told him to open them in the bathroom… Maybe she hadn’t just been talking about privacy. 

…No way! Not a chance! There was no chance at all! He throws the phone down on the desk and tries to turn his attention back to his work. 

…

…There are still a lot he hasn’t listened to… and this is his only chance before Vanderwood comes back. 

…But in case she comes back early, he should really go into the bathroom. 

\--

“Come to bed with me~~~” 

It wasn’t his fault. A man couldn’t listen to that and not get certain mental images! A-and the body naturally has certain… automatic reactions! To stuff! 

A-and… he has the phone to his ear in case Vanderwood comes back… So it seemed like Yu is whispering in his ear… 

And he’d just opened his fly to go to the bathroom! I-it wasn’t like he was thinking anything super perverted! 

And then, right in his ear… “Are you feeling good?” 

If he were a better person, he probably would have chucked the phone halfway across the room. 

But, as had been established, he is not. 

So instead of doing the right thing, he pulls the seat of the toilet down and sits, cock still out and stubbornly erect. So hard it’s twitching. That… is not going away anytime soon. 

This is for the best. This way, he'll be able to get back to work quickly. 

“It's important to take breaks!” 

Well said, Yu. 

“Oppa~” 

He wraps the hand not gripping his phone around his length. His touch feels electric… it’s been a really long time since he’d been THIS turned on. 

There’s no way this is what she’d intended when she sent these… 

“Meow~ Meow~ Purrrrrrrr purrrrrrr, meow, God Seven!” 

…Well, probably not anyway. 

He slowly begins to stroke himself as Yu whispers, cajoles, encourages, and _meows_ into his ear. 

“It’s important to have fun sometimes,” Yu says, right in his ear. Definite encouragement. He lets out a soft groan, letting his head fall back, but keeping the phone pressed tight to his ear. His other hand continues to stroke and twist, and he lets his eyes slide shut. 

“God Seven! Your disciple loves you!” 

“Seven~ How are you feeling?” 

“Take care of yourself… I’d like to take care of you myself, but I’m not there. So pretend it’s me and take care, okay?” 

And he does. He keeps his eyes closed and his ears open and imagines she’s there, kneeling in front of him, saying—

“Let me take care of you, Saeyoung~” 

Okay, he _knows_ she hadn’t said that; he’s seriously just imagining. But… 

“Just lean back and relax~ You deserve a break.” 

He feels all his muscles begin to tense. He imagines her, between his legs, stroking him gently and then firmly. A little smile on her face. What would she do? Would she take her tongue and—

“A-a-aaah, Yu--**” 

He doesn't even have the foresight to cover himself with some tissue paper or anything… He just comes blindly upwards, hand still desperately stroking himself, imagining her expression. Would she be startled? Happy? Where would she aim it? 

“G-g-god…” He slumps forward, resting his head against the edge of the sink. He feels completely drained… no pun intended. He could probably sleep for a month… 

…But there’s work to be done, and the cabinet across from the toilet now has come dripping down it. He should… definitely not leave that for Vanderwood to clean up. 

Yu is still talking from his phone, the voice clips all queued up on repeat. 

He should definitely delete those. 

And he _definitely_ should not have done that. 

And **most definitely** could not do it again. 

…

He closes the audio app and turns off his phone. 

He’ll delete them later.

* * *

It probably isn’t fair to masturbate thinking about someone that was suffering right then. 

You feel terrible that you can’t help Seven. You can’t get into the stupid desk, you can’t figure out the alarm system at all, and you don’t know what secret agents that work for evil organizations actually need in terms of support. But apparently, feeling shitty doesn’t extend to not lying in a dead girl’s bed, hand down your panties, moaning the alias of a man whose name you don’t actually know. 

“Seven, please, ah—“ you pant. You’re imagining him between your legs, tongue tormenting your clit—it’s actually your finger—while he roughly finger-fucks you—that is also your fingers. You don’t really know where the sudden onset horniness came from, but come it had, and pretty soon, so would you. 

“Roll over,” you imagine him ordering, voice ragged and rough. Panting slightly. You imagine his voice really vividly, probably because you’ve only talked to him on the phone. “I want to feel you.” 

You roll over in bed, ass up, face in the pillow as you just work yourself over with one hand against your clit, the other clutching the pillows desperately as you imagine Seven lining himself up behind you. Head of his cock finding your entrance, pushing in… first just the head and then...! 

“Aaaaaaah~**” you moan into the pillow, letting it muffle your orgasmic scream. Your legs tremble as your whole body twitches. Then you slump down onto the bed. 

You’ll need to change your underwear. 

And probably clean up. 

Maybe you’ll just take a shower. 

And this time, not wind up just masturbating in the shower. 

You roll over to stare at the ceiling. 

“I’m really glad I’m not still Catholic,” you mutter out loud. “Or I would be too busy atoning to get any work done at all.”

* * *

You’d taken a shower and failed to not masturbate again. Geez! What’s with you lately?! Since you were up anyway and couldn’t sleep, you tried to get some work done for the party—you were having no luck with the desk and didn’t want to risk setting something off. But you can’t really focus… It’s 3am, but you suspect Seven is up. If he isn’t, he’ll just sleep through the call, right? 

“Seven? You picked up… Are you okay?” 

“Did you call me because you got worried? Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. …But… wait. The time… What are you doing up? I told you earlier, I’m fine.” He sounds a bit annoyed with you… it IS really late. You forgot, the RFA doesn’t really know how little you sleep. Not even Seven. 

“It’s not that…” you say with a sigh. “I… Honestly, I… I couldn’t sleep, and I just wanted to hear your voice.” 

Late night sentimentality isn’t good for anyone. But you’re really tired and more than a little fatigued thanks to all your “strenuous exercise,” and you just want everything to stop hurting for a little while. You want to just pretend it’s three days ago and you can call Seven and be cute and silly and fun, and hear his voice and have it feel like the sun is rising just for you. 

“What? Oh… Y-you know, to be honest, I… …Ne-never mind. It’s nothing. I’m just sleepy. I’m just having all these random thoughts because I’m sleepy. That’s probably the case for you, too… Either wake up or go to sleep! I feel weak when you say things like that.” 

“Weak?” 

“Tired!” he says irritably, and you flinch a bit. “Don’t tease me like that. I feel like you’re being mean.” 

“I-I’m not, I—“ 

“You’re teasing me again, right? You seem to think I won’t understand—“ 

“That’s n-not it! I was just—“ being uncharacteristically honest. Normally when you said that kind of stuff, you _would_ mean for him to take it as a joke. It’s your own fault. “I… I just wanted you to feel better.” 

“I’m fine, I told you.” 

“You don’t sound fine.” 

“I’m just tired. And… I can’t answer the questions you’re asking about me. So please stop asking and just leave me alone.” 

“I—“ 

“I can’t focus if you don’t leave me alone!” he snaps, then immediately goes quieter. “I—I’m sorry, I… have to go now. …Good night.” 

… 

Well you’re definitely not getting to sleep _now..._

\--

You do wind up sleeping, or rather, passing out on the desk sometime just after dawn, then waking up in a jolt a few hours later, having apparently fallen asleep just long enough to have a nightmare about Seven being pulled into a crack in the ground leading to Hell. As he was being dragged in by cackling men in dark suits, he’d shouted that it was because you kept distracting him. 

Goodie. 

Well, you’re not fucking going back to sleep now. You’ll just get back to work… It’s morning anyway.

* * *

You passed out again, this time _behind_ the desk. Not the best way to fall asleep… you’re crazy sore when you wake up some forty-five minutes later. You shimmy out from behind it—God, your back is killing you—and crawl back to the bed on your hands and knees. Oh… you have a missed call. That’s the first time someone’s actually called you and it didn’t wake you up… probably because you were over behind the desk, and also exhausted. It was Seven, too, shit… You should call him back. 

“There you are! I was seriously putting on my shoes to go there! Why didn’t you pick up? Is everything alright?” 

“Wh—y-yeah, everything’s fine. I’m sorry. I normally don’t sleep through noises like that.” 

“Oh, you were just asleep… I’m sorry. Now that you’re awake, could you open the window and see outside? And check the kitchen, too, just in case.” 

“Er… sure,” you say, wandering into the kitchen. “Is something going—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” You let out a shriek to shake the heavens and raise the dead. 

“What? What?! Oh my god! What’s going on?! Yu!” 

“Fucking fuck! Shit! Spider! AUUUUGH! Kill it kill it kill it nooooo!” you shriek as you slam down an entire paper towel roll onto the offending spider. It had been about the size of 100 won coin, which was **significantly** too large for a spider. Not that any spiders could be suffered to live… ugh. 

“Are you alright?! Yu???” 

Oh right. You probably gave Seven a heart attack. “It was just a spider! A bug! Sorry!” you exclaim, still breathing heavy. Are there tears in your eyes? Ugh! “I hate spiders sooooo much…” 

“Bug… A real bug, right?? Not some electronic device?” 

“Er…” you move the paper towel roll to the side. “Eeeewwww… No, definitely just a real spider…” 

“Phew… I just felt strange and had to call, but I guess it was just a false alarm. Sorry to bother you.” 

“You aren’t bothering me. Er, Seven, I wanted to apologize…” 

“Whatever it is, you don’t need to. You don’t have anything to apologize for. I’ll go back to work now… Sorry.” 

He’s… already hung up… 

Ugh. Well, whatever… You need to get your head on straight and figure out what you’re actually going to be doing today—ah!! Fuck! Twelve unread emails?! Jesus Christ! Getting a party together in this amount of time is seriously no joke! You need to get these replied to ASAP, and maybe call Jaehee if any of them are confirmed RSVPs… 

Angsty secret agent time is over! You gotta get this done!

* * *

Well, the BIC CEO is coming and you might possibly be engaged to the bald son of an oil baron—eh, you could do worse. You’ve forwarded the allergy information from the head of the Allergy Research Center to Jaehee… thankfully, it’s her job to make sure you actually have beef and seaweed soup at the party. Your job is lying and then depending on Jumin’s vast stores of cash to make it so that you hadn’t actually lied. 

Seven seems to be trying to be normal in the chatroom, but talking to him on the phone has revealed he’s basically coming apart at the seams. You’d talked to everyone else already this morning, and other than Seven, everyone seems to be doing well. They’re not overly worried. Jumin is distracted by business in the middle east, Yoosung is distracted by his mother, Jaehee is distracted by work, and Zen is distracted by… a mirror, probably. 

You wish you could distract yourself that easily. Or maybe you’re just not trying hard enough. You throw yourself into work for the party. There’s plenty to be done. You’re a bit stuck on the desk problem. You’re scared that if you do something wrong with the wires, the alarm will go off. You can’t find a cord leading out of the desk at all, so there might be an internal power system… You should try unscrewing more parts. Maybe you can find something… Ugh. 

“I’m not built for this stuff,” you grumble to yourself as you walk around the desk and glare at it from different ages. “Seven is the secret agent. I’m just playing pretend here… My degree is in pre-med, not friggin Special Ops…”

* * *

You’re in the worst possible spot when Seven calls. You’re lying flat across the top of the desk, your shoulders and head dangling upside-down over the back, so that you can more easily reach the place you need without disturbing anything too much. The desk is insanely heavy and hard to move… and you’re worried too much jostling will set something off. 

Fortunately, your phone is right next to you, so you grab it and squish it between your ear and shoulder while you continue to work. 

“Ya?” 

“Hello. Oh thank God… you picked up.” 

“Seven? Is something wrong?” you ask, pausing in your work. 

“Just stay there. Someone’s broken through the security system!” 

You freeze, tiny screwdriver in one hand and magnet in the other. “Uhhhhhh.” 

“Things are bad right now... God... just don't move and wait for me there.” 

“Wait for—Seven, wait! Hold on, what’s going on? How is someone breaking through it?” Shit. Fuck. Shitfuck. You’d set something off… you were going to have to explain why you’d been trying to break into the desk to Seven _OH GOD HE’S GONNA BE SO MAD_. 

“The security system got hacked! I don't know what the hell is going on... I knew something bad was going to happen.” 

“Wait, hacked? As in digital?” you ask, frowning and sitting up on the desk. “Is it the hacker?” 

“It has to be! The algorithm’s been changed… Look, I’ll explain later, I don’t have time—“ 

“But there’s no physical tampering? It’s just hacking?” 

“What do you mean physical—Is someone in the apartment?!” 

“Er, no, I was just worried there’d been a break in or something, or I’d messed something up—“ 

“No, just… just stay there and wait for me! DO NOT LEAVE!” 

“Alright. Just calm down, Seven. Everything’s fine here right now.” 

“I'm so sorry. This is all because of me. I... I couldn't be perfect. I got so distracted and I couldn't do all the work...!” 

“Seven, that’s not—“ 

“I don't even have time to be saying this. I'll be there right now. You have to be safe... you have to... please... Please don't get hurt...!” 

The line drops. 

He’s coming here... 

…Well, fuck, you’ve got to figure out how to dispose of a lot of tools without leaving the room.

* * *

You’re not sure whether you want it to be the hacker or not. On one hand, you **really** don’t want to be caught. On the other hand, holy _shit_ , what? You weren’t even sure what had happened, only that Seven was completely frantic and panicked. He’s calling you constantly to make sure nothing’s happening, and while you try to remain calm and ease his nerves, you’re starting to get really nervous yourself. 

The first thing you do is screw the back of the desk back on and put everything back as best you can. You can’t really see a difference, but then, you’re not a secret fucking agent going over everything with a fine-toothed comb! You gather up all the tools, too. What the fuck do you do with these? Maybe you could hide them in one of the old file boxes in the closet?? Or under the bed? But if Seven finds them, you’ll be up shit creek without a paddle. No, you need to dispose of them completely… but how? You can’t leave! Even if there weren’t a friggin camera just outside the door, there’s also a chance that Seven’s being serious for a reason. You might be snatched up by men in black suits or something… Or at the very least, set off an alarm and freak Seven out even worse. 

…The window? Can you just throw them out the window? Wait, fuck, no… Seven mentioned seeing the same bird outside the window as you! There’s a camera out there too! Fuck! Shit! 

“Alright, I guess you’re going in the closet… Fuck,” you swear under your breath. “Wait… Seven might go through some of the old files, but I know what he WON’T go into…” 

You yank all the drawers of the dresser open. There’s old clothing in here, so you hadn’t been using it; you just had your dirty clothes scattered about the floor and your clean ones piled up on top of the dresser. But now you yank out all of Rika’s clothing on to the floor— _please don’t haunt me please don’t haunt me_ —and get to work. Seven might look all over the place for bugs… but there’s one place he’ll have you look instead. 

Your underwear drawer.

* * *

You jam everything you can in your drawers—hahaha—without it being obvious. Then you glance around the room… marks on the rug from the desk. You need to rub those out. Anything else… Oh, you look like shit! You probably smell, too! Augh, but is now really the time to take a shower?? No, you have to be alert. What if something happens and you’re naked and wet? You just throw on a very thorough coat of deodorant and change into clean clothes. God. This is shitty. Seriously not how you wanted your first time meeting Seven to go! 

But whatever… you’ll just straighten up a little and—fuck! How did you miss a call?! You didn’t even hear it ring! You immediately call Seven back… poor guy is probably freaking out! 

“God... Why didn’t you pick up your phone! I got worried... Don't do that to me! Seriously... I thought something horrible happened to you...” 

“Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t hear it ring. Sorry! I’m fine. Everything’s still fine here.” 

“Are you sure? If you’re not paying attention to your surroundings…” 

“I’m fine. Honestly, I’m more worried about you… are you driving while talking on the phone? Don’t crash!” 

“Is this really time for you to worry about me!?” Seven shouts, making you flinch back away from the phone. “In your situation!? God! ...No, never mind. I'm sorry, I just got worked up.” 

“I-it’s okay, just be careful, okay?” 

“I'm almost frustratingly alright, so don't worry about me and just be alert to your surroundings. I’ll get there as soon as I can, so just wait. I'm sorry... that things turned out like this. It's all my fault.”

“I seriously don’t see how.” 

“Just… You have to let me know if you hear any strange noise, okay? I need to go there in person to work on the security system. I'm taking all the equipment I need... But I can't take my car to the building so I'll have to run. It'll take about 10 more minutes.” 

“You can’t take your car to the building?” you say, alarm audible in your voice despite your attempts to remain calm and level. 

“The hacker can chase me then. And the agency too...” 

“THE AGENCY?!” 

“No, never mind.” 

“What do you mean never mind?! Seven, is the agency chasing you?! Seven!” 

“I know this will sound like a lie, but everything will be fine. Nothing will happen. Let's just believe that. …I'll make sure that's the case. I’ll be there soon.” 

“Seven—“ 

…Damnit! He hung up! 

Fuck! 

The agency?! What did he do? 

The seriousness of the situation begins sinking in. This is… fuck, this is bad, this is really bad. If he did something with the agency because of your tinkering… What if this is all your fault?! How are you gonna take responsibility if you put his life in danger?! Fuck! Fuck!!! 

You crouch down there, in the middle of the room, digging your hands into your hair. Breathe, breathe… this isn’t the time to freak out! You’ve got to pay attention and not miss a thing… And if Seven gets here and it turns out there isn’t a hacker, you have to be honest with him about what you’ve done… and take the fallout. But first, work under the assumption there is a hacker, and it isn’t your fault. Focus. Check your surroundings. 

Stay calm.

* * *

You give your room a last once over. Seven could be here any second, so you have to be thorough… ah! Fuck! The drill! It hadn’t fit in your drawer, so you’d set it on top intending to figure out what to do with it. You grab it and look around desperately. Why is this thing so huge?! Where can you hide it… 

Your eyes flit to the window again. He won’t see if he’s on the road, right? No, he’s probably looking at it even closer right now. Oh, but if you put it in something… right! You’ll put it in a bag of trash! You shouldn’t throw trash out a window this high up, let alone something heavy like a drill, but it’s just an alleyway down there… You quickly jam it into your bathroom trash and pull up the bag, tying it shut. It’s really obvious that you have a drill in there, but hopefully it’ll fall so fast that it won’t matter. You practically sprint to the window. Seven could show up any—

**C R A S H**

It’s like your whole world shatters. You’d been running towards the window, when suddenly something huge and dark had loomed into sight, then smashed through the window. You scream, throwing your hands up to protect your face from the flying glass. 

“Oh… you were standing right here,” a strange voice says. A person! Your instincts kick in and you swing the bag at him as hard as you can. He catches it, hand wrapping right around the heaviest part, the drill. “None of that. Oh… What’s this? It’s heavy. …A drill? Tsk… what have you been up to?” 

You yank, but realize quickly he’s much stronger than you, so you just release the bag and back quickly away. 

“Were you curious, too? Hahaha… I knew I found the right person.” 

“You… you’re the hacker? Unknown?” you say uncertainly, still backing carefully away. He takes a few steps forward as you do, but isn’t rushing you. What the fuck kind of guy is this… What is he wearing? What’s up with that face mask? That hair? Is he for real?! What the fuck! He looks like a damn cultist, or some ninja cosplayer! 

“Smart lady. Maybe you’ll be able to understand me, then?” He takes another step forward. You take another backwards… then feel your back thump against the wall. “Wooow… it feels so strange to see it like this,” he says, eyes glancing around the room before settling firmly back on you. There’s a malicious glint in them that you don’t like seeing. “Do you know? I’m the one who first talked to you about that missing phone. I left the strange message a couple days ago… And I’m the one who sent that email. How was it?” he asks, smiling behind his mask. “It’s an invitation. Our paradise… where everyone is happy. Magenta of hopes and dreams!” 

He’d looked a little glassy-eyed there for a second… but now his attention is focused back on you. “I’ve come to take you there… The RFA is only filled with false hope. Especially those men named V and Luciel. They are always lying. I’ll explain everything once we get to Magenta.” 

…Alright. You have no fucking idea what’s going on here. Fortunately, your brain and body know exactly what to do in dangerous situations like this. They work on their own without you even needing to be present. Appease. Soothe. Give him a sense of security and control. Then… 

“Magenta…? What kind of place is that? Is it really paradise?” you ask, eyes glancing only briefly around the room before focusing back on the man in front of you. He doesn’t look that strong, but that’s deceptive, as you’d just learned. He might look unhealthy, but he’s got a lot of height on you and more muscle than expected. You can’t overpower him, for sure… 

“Of course,” he says. “It’s nothing like this place that’s nothing but lies. Once I take you there, you will have true peace of mind.” He smiles. It’s unsettling how you can tell even though his mouth is covered. How the mask distorts… “You may not understand this now… but this is all for us to live in heaven.” 

You’re kind of glad your brain is already firmly in crisis mode, or that line would have sent you running. 

“You will be happy in the end, too,” he continues. Your heart is already dead in your chest. The reality that you’re about to die is setting in, but it feels hollow. You have to stay in the now. 

“A-are you sure… that I will be happy?” you ask, taking a cautious step towards him. If you can just get him off-guard enough, close enough, you can… 

“Of course. Oh, look at you shaking… You look so scared, but you’re brave. You must be like me.” Don’t get sick don’t get sick don’t get sick—“I know…” he croons, taking another step closer. “I know how hard it’s been… All your pain will go away now, if you come with me.” He runs a cold finger along the side of your face, down to your chin. Your body wants to tense; you keep it relaxed. Give no warning—“I’ll make a special exception for you… I’ll tell the savior how good you are.” 

You look straight in his eyes—a sickly sort of pale green—and take a deep breath. “I’ll go with you, then...” If he tries to walk you out the door, trip him down the stairwell and run… if he goes for the window, better, you can definitely catch him off guard and throw him out—

“The special security system has been act- act- act-“ 

The man jumps. If you had been in the jumping mood, you would have been bouncing all over the place. Instead, you’re ready—you dive to the side, scrambling towards the door. The man catches a fistful of your hair and yanks you back towards him. You let out a cry of pain, and he’s already wrapping an arm around your neck. Fuck! No, fuck, he’s got your arms, shit—

“The special security system has been deactivated,” says the same weird, robotic voice. 

“Hold still!” he hisses. “Another liar here… You almost fooled me, too. Stop struggling.” 

You go limp and stop fighting. Maybe he’ll let go of your arms… 

“You can’t fool me just by playing good again. Tsk… Now where is that sound coming from?” 

You hear the clunk of the front door opening. Seven?! Please, dear God, let it be Seven! 

“God, that was tough... I made it, but it's so damn hard. How the hell did they complicate my already complicated algorithm?” 

That might as well have been the voice of Jesus Christ himself for how much you’re flooded with relief. “ **SEVEN!!!** ” you shriek as loud as you can. “ **SEVEN, HELP!!!** ” 

“Yu!!!” you hear him exclaim, then he comes tearing in from the entrance way. He pauses, taking the scene in… You’re in a pretty compromised position, after all. Maybe you shouldn’t have tried to dive away. 

“Shit!” you hear the hacker curse from behind you. He tightens his grip on your neck, crushing your windpipe. You can’t talk… you can’t breathe! “Why? Why are you here!? I thought I could finally put you in pain…!” You struggle uselessly. Your arms… if you could just—

“You’re the hacker, right?” Seven asks. He seems calm—glad one of you is. “Guess you’re not completely shameless since you’re covering your face. You’ll go to jail for breaking and entering like this. Whoah! You even broke the window. Yu. Be careful of the glass. You’re not wearing any shoes; you’ll get hurt if you step on it.” 

_MAYBE A LITTLE TOO CALM, SEVEN._

“First, why don’t you let go of that lady over there?” Seven says cheerfully. The hacker’s grip against your neck is still too tight for you to breathe. You try to press yourself back against him, anything to squeeze in even a single breath, but it only serves to tighten the grip further. “I hated that the agency made me go through physical training,” Seven continues. “But I guess it does come in handy…” 

“Even now,” the hacker hisses. “All you do is just ruin my life…” 

Oh good, they’re **BUDDIES.**

“Huh?” Seven says, looking momentarily surprised. “You know me?” 

“You probably don’t know… I’m sure you’ve long forgotten about me.” The man releases your arms, and your grip automatically flies to his arm, prying at it enough so that you can suck in a desperate breath. “You still don’t know?” You can’t see what’s happening, and your vision is spinning. 

“No way…” you hear Seven say. 

“I guess you do now.” The hacker’s voice sounds different. You see something thump to the floor… black. He must have taken off his mask. 

“Seven!” you rasp, still half-choking. “What’s going on?” 

“Uhm…” he stammers. 

“Today must be my unlucky day, to see your face,” the hacker spits. “It felt so good hacking your programs. But now it’s all back to square one.” 

“What… what happened?” asks Seven shakily. You don’t like the look on his face… shocked, scared. He has to know who this is, but… “Why are you… why are you here!? You’re Saeran, right…?” 

A name… Saeran. It means nothing to you, but… 

“Don’t call me that,” the hacker—Saeran—hisses. “You don’t deserve to say that name.” 

“You’re the one who copied my algorithm…? God… when did you learn to hack!? Why? Who taught you?” 

“Shut up!!!” the man shouts—almost screeches. His grip tightens spasmodically again, and you choke. You claw at his arm, but the leather he’s wearing protects him. 

“Why are you doing this!? Rika told me that you—“ 

“You… don’t you **dare** say that name.” You manage to wriggle one of your wrists into his grip, and use it to pry just enough so that you can breathe. You need air, oh god… The conversation is continuing, but you’re just trying to breathe and figure out what to do. “Traitor! All the names you spit out will be contaminated, so shut up.” 

“Saeran… why are you doing this now? Tell me! S-something bad happened, right? That’s why you’re here? But… Rika would never have lied to me…!” 

You’re not really sure what’s happening, but with oxygen, so returns your ability to think. You’ve got a firm two feet on the ground, and “Saeran” isn’t really paying attention to you. He seems totally fixated on Seven. Actually, they both seem fixated on each other. Right now, you’re basically damsel decoration. 

“You’re the one lying,” spits Saeran. “I can tell, don’t pretend you don’t know.” 

“I’m not lying!!” 

“You’re not? That promise about protecting me, about being together, all lies… Even your last promise when you told me that we will be happy after escaping that hellish place was a lie. I remember all of them! I know that you changed your name to Luciel to get rid of me! Don’t tell me that you don’t remember.” 

“That… I had no choice! It’s… too much to explain right now…” 

“Shut up! What do you mean you had no choice…?” He laughs, a hollow, empty sound. “Eat those pathetic lies of yours.” 

You try to make eye contact with Seven. You have to let him know you can do something to help, you have to find a way to communicate so that you don’t make things worse… but he’s not looking at you. 

“You’re out of control. Covering lies with more lies… I knew you were lowly. My savior was right.” You sincerely hope Saeran’s rambling makes more sense to Seven than it does to you. 

“Saeran, I don’t know what people told you… but I thought you were doing well. I asked Rika to see a photo of you laughing. I knew I couldn’t meet you, but I always prayed for you to be happy…” 

“Shut up!” the man screams. “I don’t want to hear it! Stop lying!!” 

“First… let Yu go,” Seven says, his eyes finally meeting yours. You try to communicate as much as possible through just that. “Then let’s talk. Please? Let’s take care of this together… You hate _me_ right now, right? She has nothing to do with this.” 

“You’re a little backwards. I brought her here, so she’s mine.” The hell you are! 

“There’s no reason to involve her in this! Don’t do something to her because of me… Please…!” 

“Ooh? Hmm~ Do you have feelings for this girl or something?” Shit. Fuck. Shitfuck. Goddamnit, Seven! 

“…Even if I do, it’s useless.” Now is NOT. THE. TIME. FOR YOUR ANGST, SEVEN. 

“So you _do_ have feelings for her. I can read everything on your mind, you know.” Saeran’s arm suddenly presses against your neck again, hard. You fight it with your hand, so you can still sort of breathe, but… His other hand tangles into your hair, pulling your head back, making you look up at him. “So I can just do whatever I want to this girl to make you suffer, right?” 

Your heart is frozen in your chest. Don’t panic don’t panic dontpanicdontpanic—

“Don’t fight,” he murmurs into your ear. “You don’t want him to see anything inappropriate, do you?” 

Your mind is shutting down. You can’t deal with this! You spasm violently against the grip. 

“Yu! Stay still!” Seven shouts. “Don’t move! It’s dangerous!” You force your body limp again. He’s right. 

“How will I play with you?” Saeran whispers. You’ve started shaking, and you don’t think you can stop. You’re not sure you’ll ever stop. “If you want to be officially inducted, you’ll have to go through training… Oh…. A lot of ideas are coming to my mind…” 

“Saeran! Just take me instead!” 

Okay, Seven has officially decided to be useless in this situation, great. This is on you; you have to do something… but Saeran’s attention is firmly on you right now. You should have acted when you had the chance! 

“A stranger has been located.” 

…? The robot voice again? 

“What is that saying?” Saeran hisses, bringing his head up away from your ear. 

“The special security system… I restarted it and it’s only starting to work just now.” 

Oh thank God. Seriously? Thank God. God bless hackers! 

“Sensed location of stranger… adjusting target…” 

“It’s sensing you as a stranger, Saeran.” 

“What?!” 

“The whole place will explode if we stay like this. Get out of here!” 

……Explode? 

“Backing up all information… After the backup is complete, the bomb will be activated. 20 seconds left…” 

THE BOMB?!? 

“We’ll all die if we don’t get out!!” Seven yells. 

“Shit…!” 

You feel Saeran’s grip loosen. His stance has changed… he’s looking around! He’s off balance! 

“Yu! Right now!!!” you hear Seven yell, but your body is already moving the way it knows how. You lock your feet on the ground. One hand grabs the arm, one hand grabs the shoulder. Saeran tightens his grip and you lean forward, dropping your weight down and _yanking_ with all your might. Gravity and Saeran’s body weight does most of the work… he goes rolling over your back and then sailing forward, crashing onto the ground in a heap. You scamper desperately towards Seven, yanking yourself forward with your hands, not even bothering to stand properly. 

“10 seconds left… 9 seconds…” 

You dive behind Seven’s legs, shaking wildly. You hear Saeran swear, see him standing up. 

“6 seconds… 5 seconds…” 

“Get out!” shouts Seven. “You’ll die like this!” 

“Shit… shit…! I won’t forgive you! I’ll get revenge or everything! Including today!” 

He runs and… launches himself out the fucking window?! Christ! 

“Sensing stranger’s movement… readjusting target… readjusting… readjusting… Stranger missing… Stop attack. The special security system is now under lookout mode.” 

Seven is saying something, but you can’t quite feel your… entire body. Your heart feels like it’s going to explode. Your whole body is on fire and electric. You take a few deep breaths, then look up to see Seven looking as shellshocked as you feel. 

“S-Seven… are you okay?” you gasp out. 

“I don’t know…” he murmurs. “I don’t think either of us are okay… God… Shit…” 

“That man… Saeran? How do you know him?” you ask, your brain beginning to catch up. 

“That man… is my twin brother.” 

…Never mind, you have no idea what the fuck is happening anymore. Clearly this is a super fucked up dream from watching too many spy movies. 

Seven glances down at you, as if just realizing you’re there. Fortunately, at this point, you’ve managed to wrench yourself under some form of control. 

“Shit… You shouldn’t have found out about this.” 

“I-is that really the concern right now?” 

“Yu… I’m sorry, but please keep what happened with that boy a secret. You can forget it completely… No, that would actually be better. Since that was a traumatic experience…” 

Oh. So he actually noticed. 

You resist the urge to rub against your neck, where you still feel Saeran’s arm crushing your throat. 

Seven squats down in front of you. “Don’t tell anyone in the RFA about him… Please.” 

…This… has to be seriously important, if that’s what he’s focusing on right now… 

“Alright… I trust you, Seven.”

* * *

Seven is getting set up. Once your mind catches up, you realize that he intends to work, not comfort you in any way. Which is fine. That’s not his job. This is a grown up situation, no one has time for one of your little “fits.” Either way… You excuse yourself to the bathroom. You lock the door firmly behind you, turn on the shower… and then curl up in the tiny little space between the toilet and the bathtub, and just let it all out. 

The tears. The shaking. The rocking back and forth. You muffle the screams into whimpers, drowned out by the noise of the shower. 

Doctors had called them panic attacks. Your mom had called them fits. Your dad had called the priest; where he came from, rocking back and forth and screaming normally meant demons were involved. You know they aren’t demons now, but that thought hadn’t helped back when you were a child. You’d been sure that demons were coming to take your soul. The panic about that just made everything worse. 

Now you’re an adult. You know demons aren’t coming for you. Or you knew. Right this moment, you feel very much like a demon had just smashed through your window, intending fully to drag you to hell. “Magenta…” It was clear he was going to torture you, too… Th-those things he said. 

You flush the toilet as you retch in it, counting on the noise to cover the sound of vomiting. You’re an old hand at this. You stay in the bathroom, shaking, trembling, screaming internally, until things blow over, as they inevitably do. Eventually you always run out of energy. When you feel able, you shakily stand and stare into the mirror. You look like the dead… good thing your makeup is in here. You hadn’t even been wearing any earlier, since putting on your makeup hadn’t really been a priority. That’s a good excuse… Seven won’t think it weird that you’re suddenly wearing more now. 

You rinse your eyes out until they’re not red anymore, then carefully cover the dark bags. Blush helps you look less pale and harrowed. God bless makeup. It can hide anything. 

You stare at your new face in the mirror a few times, take some deep breaths, and then head out into the room at large. 

Seven is in the corner, but looks up when you exit the bathroom. He holds up the drill that had been in the trash. 

“Is this yours?”

* * *

Time stretches out in front of you. Two paths. 

You could tell Seven the drill was Saeran’s. The guy was maybe here for information—or maybe just here to kidnap you, hard to say—so Seven would probably believe it. Or, you could tell Seven the truth—the whole truth. What you were doing and why. He’d probably get mad. You might get kicked out of the RFA. Seven might hate you. Jumin might do horrible things to you. But definitely not as horrible as anything Saeran would do, if you get thrown out and he catches you… 

It would be pretty easy to lie. It would be much safer. You’d already made preparations. You’d spent all afternoon hiding evidence of what you’d been doing. You have the perfect fall guy… 

But… 

But… 

Your gaze falls from Seven to the floor. 

“…Yeah, it’s mine.” 

“Why do you have a drill?” he asks, sounding baffled. “Was something wrong with the apartment? The window? Were you making repairs?” 

_Damnit, Seven, stop setting up lies for me when I’m trying to tell you the truth!_

Wordlessly, you stumble over to your dresser. “What are you—“ Seven begins, then lets out a startled cry when you begin tossing underwear onto the bed. “What the?! …Is that?” 

You pull the drawer the rest of the way out and upturn it, sending your tools clattering onto the ground. Seven’s eyes trace over them, then up to you. He looks guarded. 

“...” How to explain this… “I got them from a hardware store. I knew something was going on, and that something was being hidden here. I thought if I could find the files I wasn’t supposed to see, I’d figure out what the hacker was after,” you say with a sigh. 

“…Are you out of your mind?!” Seven exclaims, abruptly standing up. “You could have set off the security system!” 

“I know!” you snap. “I was being careful!” 

“You could have **DIED**!” he shouts, now right in front of you. He looks really pissed, but you try to stand your ground, despite the fact your shaking is starting up again. 

“I thought it was an _alarm_ , not a _BOMB!_ Do you think I would have been touching anything in this apartment if I’d known there was a bomb?!” you demand. 

“Oh my God,” Seven says, running a hand through his hair. “What were you doing?” 

You point to the desk. “I got the back of it open. I was trying to get into the drawers, but I saw the wires…” 

“Oh my God,” Seven repeats. “You’re insane! Why would you do that?!” 

“Because something was going on with you, and I didn’t know how else to help!” 

“You didn’t need to help! You’re a writer, not a private investigator!” 

“I thought if I could get the information, it would help! You don’t know what’s in there either, right?! What Saeran was after?” 

That gives Seven pause. “…I can’t even know for sure it was information he wanted, now… I don’t… want to talk about him. Don’t change the subject, anyway! You could have blown yourself up!” 

“I didn’t know there was a bomb!” you repeat. “How would I have guessed that?! Who suggests a stranger live in an apartment with a bomb? Who even _HAS A BOMB?!_ This is an apartment building, Seven! What happens if it goes off?!” 

“…It won’t go off. And it wouldn’t be strong enough to do structural damage… Probably.” 

“Probably,” you echo, sinking down onto the bed. “Why is there even a bomb here...? Look, Seven, I’m… I’m sorry. I really thought I would be able to help by seeing what was in there. I didn’t know it was dangerous.” 

Seven lets out a long sigh. “I seriously can’t believe you… Just… stay over there. I have to work.” 

“Are you comfortable in that corner…? We could clear the desk off, or you could work on the sofa…” you suggest tentatively. 

“This suits me better. If you have a sharpie, I’m all for drawing a line on the ground.” 

Ouch… Well… You’d known he’d be mad. “B-but shouldn’t we… I mean… isn’t there something I can do? Your brother was after me, so I’m kind of involved anyway…” 

“Don’t talk about him. That’s nothing for you to know. I already made a mistake telling you about him… so just forget that I even mentioned it.” 

“But—“ 

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but there’s nothing I can tell you. Just don’t ask me anything. Maybe you should just pretend I’m not here.” 

“…You’re not even looking at me…” 

“We’re in the same house. Why do I need to look at you?” 

“…Just… let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. What are you—“ 

“Don’t come closer!” he snaps, and you freeze mid-step. “We need to keep our distance! I always work alone. It's uncomfortable just being with you here.” 

“O-oh, okay.” Should you go back to the bathroom…? That would probably be weird. Normal people don’t hang out in bathrooms. You wander vaguely towards the kitchen. 

“Oh! Stop, stop there... Please don't disappear from my sight though. It makes me nervous.” 

You give Seven a very long, very haggard look, but he’s not even looking at your face. 

“Just read a book on your bed if you’re bored… I need to work on this. But don’t leave my sight, or I’ll get distracted.” 

“Alright,” you say sarcastically. “Anything else?” 

“You should wear a jacket or something… aren’t you cold? Your clothes…” 

“What’s wrong with my _clothes_?” you demand, looking down. You’re wearing some of the clothes you _just_ bought! You'd thought the pink, frilly skirt was cute... 

“Never mind. It’s none of my business.” 

Great. Now you’re a stupid liar _and_ a distraction _**and**_ a bad dresser… Where’s that fucking hoodie you bought?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that you can follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ElvenSemi) (update notifications only) or [Tumblr](http://elvensemi.tumblr.com/information) if you like my stuff/want update notifications as soon as something goes up/want to stalk me. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and triple-thanks if you comment. <3


	8. Day 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's sfw but there's a bit of very mild gore at the beginning (if you're like me and easily get squicked out by the thought of injuries lol).

Your good behavior lasts approximately four hours. If Seven knew much about you, he’d be proud. It’s practically a personal best… particularly with the way _he’s_ acting. 

You put on stockings because he complained about your legs. Then you put on leg warmers over that. They weren’t even your leg warmers. They were probably Rika’s. You’re wearing dead-person leg warmers. You’d put on a hoodie over your top. The only reason you’re not overheating is that it’s actually really cold in the apartment thanks to the completely shattered window. You’d tried to sweep up that glass, by the way. Seven had yelled at you, saying you would get cut. 

You’d made dinner. He’d been twitchy the whole time you were out of his line of sight in the kitchen. You tried to get him to eat it. He wouldn’t. He yelled at you again when you got down on your hands and knees next to him to try and convince him to eat. That was about when your stubbornness had kicked in. You’d sat next to him, fussing over him, until he got up and declared he was going to take a shower. 

He’d locked his laptop before leaving, too… not that you’d know what to do with it. You’d be terrified to mess something up if you touched anything. But you can’t blame him for being paranoid after learning you’d basically been trying to Mission Impossible your way into Rika’s desk. 

You take advantage of his time in the shower to do everything he wouldn’t let you do earlier. You sweep up the glass, for one. You clean up the panties you’d thrown all over your bed in a fit of Dramatic Flair. You’re really goddamn tempted to leave one on his laptop. Which would win out? His Catholic morals, or his desire to work? You could probably use them to herd him around the room… 

Ugh. But you should be good. So you just toss them into the drawer instead, grumbling the whole time. “Stupid sexy jerk, thinks he knows everyth—OOWmmpppph!” You quickly muffle your own shout of pain, not wanting Seven to hear. You’d stepped on something sharp! It had gone right through your stocking. You limp over to the bed and sit down, putting your foot up on your knee. Ah, fuck… you stepped on glass! Seven is gonna be pissed… Well, what he doesn’t know… Where are your tweezers? 

…In the bathroom. 

Of course. 

You peer at the injury, wincing. Can you get it out with your fingers? You don’t want to injure yourself worse… 

The shower turns off. Damn! You don’t have time. Ugh… might as well bite the bullet now. You grab your phone and dial Seven. You hear it ring from inside the bathroom. There’s a pause, then… 

“Why are you calling me? I’m in the bathroom!” 

“Can you grab the tweezers on your way out?” 

“The tweezers?” 

“I just need them. Please?” 

“And you couldn’t just come to the door and ask…?” 

“But I get so _excited_ hearing you over the phone, oppa~” you say breathily, forcing your voice into sickly sweet cuteness. 

“Is that why you keep calling me…? You’re joking, right? This really isn’t the time for joking.” 

“It’s always the time for joking,” you say flatly. “The situation doesn’t get any better from me being depressing, and I’m not really useful for anything else. Tweezers?” 

“I’ll get them! Just let me get a towel on…” 

You proceed to choke on your own saliva as your mind shuts down every other function to dedicate 100% processing power to the concept that Seven had been naked while talking to you. 

“Are you alright? Don’t make weird noises…” Seven grumbles. 

“I’m fine. I’ll hang up now, so bring the tweezers, please.” 

A few tense minutes later, Seven emerges from the bathroom. He’s regrettably clothed, though he’s just wearing a… t-shirt… that’s… clinging to his… still-damp torso… k-kind of… plastered to it actually… A-and his hair is still wet… a-and his glasses are off… 

W… wow. 

You stare in a sort of hypnotized daze as he approaches you… where you sit on the _bed._

“Yu? Why are you star—ah! Blood!” he exclaims, which snaps you partway out of your daze. You glance down at your foot, which is in fact bleeding down across your torn stocking. “Did you step on the glass? I told you to be careful!” 

“Yeah… sorry. That’s why I wanted the tweezers. Just hand them to me.” 

“There’s glass in your foot?! You have to be more careful! Seriously! You can get really hurt that way!” 

“Thanks, I got it,” you say with a frown, reaching for the tweezers. You grab them out of his hand and bend down over your foot. 

“You can’t do it through the sock!” Seven exclaims, sounding exasperated. 

“I’m… I’ll take it off!” 

“Why are your hands shaking so much? Are you scared of blood?” 

“No! Maybe! A little!” 

“Oh, just let me,” Seven says, exasperated. He kneels down in front of you and lifts your ankle up, sliding the leg warmer off. You slowly begin turning bright crimson. There’s no way he’s about to—yep. You feel every millimeter of his fingertips as he hooks them into the top of your stocking—on your THIGH—and pulls it slowly downwards. You look up towards heaven, but there’s definitely no room for Jesus right now. 

You flinch as the sock sides over your foot, hissing in pain. 

“Sorry!” Seven says. “Ah, it’s a big piece… At least that’ll make it easier to get out.” 

“Don’t describe it!” you exclaim, clutching your stomach as a wave of nausea hits you. As appealing as the sight of Seven kneeling in front of you with his hand on your ankle is, you definitely have to close your eyes. “Oh God… just do it.” 

“I have to be careful… hold still. Stop shaking.” 

“Right! I’ll just control that totally involuntary response to having glass embedded in my foot!” 

“If you can’t hold still, I’ll have to grip tighter, sorry.” 

“It’s okay, just do what you have to,” you say, eyes clenched tightly shut. He grips your ankle pretty tight—God, for this situation under slightly different circumstances—and then you feel a stabbing pain in your foot. You force yourself not to flinch though. 

“Got it! …D-don’t move, let me get a bandage… I saw some in the bathroom…” 

“In the cupboard!” you call after him as he crosses the small apartment with swift strides. He comes back with it quickly, handing it down to you. He looks flushed… but you’re probably brighter red than his shirt right now. 

“A-and put on some real socks! Not those flimsy, half see-through things…! I’m going to get back to work now, so don’t distract me.”

* * *

Despite having effectively stabbed yourself in the foot by not listening to Seven, you continue… not listening to Seven. Well, you do about _important_ stuff, but he makes so many demands of you that it gets frustrating quickly. 

“Seven. Seven.” He’s wearing those stupid headphones. You stare at him for a while, knowing from experience that he’ll notice within a few minutes. He does, glancing over at you. He looks surprised for a second, then scowls. You expect him to take his headphones off to scold you, which had been the point, but he just makes a… makes a **shooing** motion with his hands, and turns back to his work. Why that little…! You’re not a _cat_ , though everyone seems to _forget_ that fact… 

You grab your phone and call him, fuming on the bed, watching as he notices, sees who it is. He pulls off his headphones! 

“Seriously, why do you keep calling me? I’m right here!” he exclaims, clearly frustrated. 

“You weren’t listening to me… You had your headphones on,” you reply, scowling right back. “At least this gets your attention.” 

“You're so strange… You're so playful all the time. This situation is dangerous, you know?” 

“Not really, since you won’t tell me what’s going on,” you reply, rolling off the bed and crawling across the shag carpet towards him. 

“Wh-what are you doing?!” 

“You’ve got coffee. I want it. You yell if I come close without warning you first… That’s why I called.” 

“Why are you crawling?!” 

“Because my foot hurts,” you reply, reaching his side and reaching for the coffee. 

“W-wait! I made that like eight hours ago! It’ll be gross if you drink it now! Just throw it away! Oh... Do you want to get a new cup?” 

“I’m out of instant coffee,” you reply, sloshing the cup around. It DOES look pretty gross… “I think I’m out of caffeinated sodas, too… I would have stocked up if I had realized. I’m used to just popping down to the corner store when I want something.” 

“No, I can’t let you go outside. Just hang in there for now… Once I finish this, let's go out and get coffee together, okay?” 

You brighten instantly. “Really?” 

“Sure, if it’s just to the corner… But please, I'm begging, just sleep. Drink things in the fridge. Don't eat or drink things that are scattered around me.” 

He is kind of accumulating a ring of junk food and empty soda cans. “I should clean up…” 

“Just sleep! ...And stop staring at me all the time. And stop calling me! Someone might trace the calls. I don't have time to fight against that too. Things are dangerous enough already... I'm just gonna stay quiet over here. If you want to help me, go to bed.” 

“Fine…” You stand and half walk, half limp over to the bathroom. 

With a sigh, you begin to ready yourself for bed. At a quarter til four in the morning, it feels a little pointless, but you've been up for you don’t even KNOW how many hours now and the last twelve have been pure adrenaline. Your body is crashing. That's why you wanted the damn coffee. But a promise to go get coffee together later is more than enough to push you over the line into trying to get some sleep. 

So you brush your teeth, head to your lonely bed in the corner, and begin yanking articles of clothing off. You'd slowly been accumulating more and more over the hours. At first you'd been a bit stubborn about it because of how Seven was acting--you're just the type to get petulant and childish when frightened, you can't help it--but then you'd just done it in the hopes that maybe he would feel better or more comfortable. Even Zen had wanted you to put on your entire wardrobe, thanks to his ridiculous notion that Seven would jump you. Ha! You wish…

But it's not like you're going to SLEEP in that...! 

A choking noise draws your eyes back to Seven’s corner. 

"I-if you're going to change, do it in the bathroom!" he protests. You struggle not to roll your eyes. 

"I'm going to bed like you asked." (Demanded.) "I'm not changing." 

"Just sleep in what you're wearing!" 

You close your eyes. You take a breath. You remind yourself that no matter how scary the day has been for you, it's been infinitely worse for Seven. You meditate on that fact for a while. Bash it up against the parts of your brain that are rebelling. It doesn't quite work. 

"I can't sleep in all this," you say, yanking your hoodie off over your head. Seven inhales sharply and then, predictably, looks pointedly away. You’re far from indecent. You’d put on new stockings after you’d stepped on the glass. You’d put the stupid leg warmers back on. You were still wearing a tank top, and shorts that you’d changed into _just_ for bed. "Clothing makes it hard for me to sleep. I normally sleep nude, so this is the best you're getting." You say it to be mean, although it's true. You can't quite help yourself. The way Seven's been acting is hurting you… even though you know you deserve it after the crap you pulled with the desk. 

Seven says nothing. Again, predictably. He's focusing on his computer again. You let out an irritated little huff of breath and climb into bed, sliding under the sheets. 

A bit of sleep. Maybe that'll help. Maybe you'll be more understanding, snip at him less. 

You stare at his back for a while. 

You try to close your eyes. 

You open them again and stare at him a bit more. 

Finally, you force yourself to roll over and stare at the wall instead. 

A bit of sleep. Just a bit.

* * *

Yu has finally gone to sleep. Thank God. He can’t believe how long she’d stayed up… He thought several times that she’d fallen asleep, curled up on her bed with her phone, but every time, she’d get up again in a matter of minutes. She also did a lot of wandering around aimlessly… and she went into the bathroom six times in the last twelve hours… Does she live entirely off of cranberry juice or something…? 

He thinks it’s a good thing at first, but it turns out Yu is a restless sleeper. Or, she is tonight, at least. Today has been anything but normal for her, so he can’t blame her if she’s having nightmares… After about an hour, she begins to twitch, and then rolls onto her side. And then begins to kick. So much for getting more work done while she’s asleep… 

…Is she okay? He shifts his headphones off and suddenly can hear her anxious muttering, loud and clear. 

“N-no, stop… L-let me go…” 

Seven feels a pang in his chest, even stronger than the pain that’s becoming his new baseline. He takes off his headphones, setting them by his laptop, and walks over to the bed. 

“P-please, no…” Yu whimpers. She’s grabbed her hair in her sleep and is clutching at it desperately, all curled up and kicking at the sheets, which are by now a tangled mess. 

“Shhh,” Seven says, kneeling down by the bed. “Hey, it’s alright…” 

“I don’t wanna go… S-Seven help…” 

There’s that stabbing sensation again. That pretty much confirms what’s giving her nightmares. Of course… for a normal girl, that kind of an experience would be hugely traumatizing. Because of him… “Hey, you’re gonna hurt yourself,” he murmurs, reaching out to unclench her hands from her hair, gently. He expects her to flinch or wake up at his touch, but instead she settles slightly. Her grip loosens from her hair, but then tightens around his hand. 

His heart skips a beat. 

He shouldn’t be doing this… He needs to keep his distance from her. The only reason he’s here is to protect her, from danger _he_ created. Enjoying any part of it is just way too much… 

She laces her fingers with his, then shifts, pulling both their hands up to her face. But she’s sleeping more peacefully now. …Of course… he’s going to need his hand. As much as part of him would like to sit there with her, hands intertwined, making sure her sleep was restful... He has work to do. 

Seven glances around the bed for something he can use. He doesn’t want to just jerk his hand away, even though this pose is... seriously something. He finds a possible savior in the form of a plush dog with a squished in face. Is it hers? It must be... He can’t really imagine Rika having something like this. 

Carefully, he maneuvers it towards her face, then begins to pull his hand out of hers. When she grasps forward blindly for the escaping appendage, he thrusts the plushie into her hands. With a cute little snort, she grabs it and cuddles it right up to her face where his hand had been. “Seven…” 

God… her peaceful sleeping face is so cute. She deserves someone who will never give her nightmares. With a sigh, he returns to his work… but he keeps his headphones around his neck, in case she starts having nightmares again. 

At least, he does until about an hour later… when her dreams take another audible shift. 

Her first moan jolts him out of his reverie. He turns slowly to stare at her, certain he’d heard wrong. The wind. Probably. Yeah. The wind. 

“Aaah~” 

Nnnnope that was definitely Yu. …Moaning. 

“Nnnngh, aaah…” 

Loudly. 

“S-seven, yes~” 

AAAAAND HEADPHONES ON.

* * *

Seven’s story for how the window broke was that he’d thrown something. It sort of worked, since you’d swept up all the glass inside the apartment. Of course, the repairman, Mr. Kim, had kept giving you looks. You could tell he was trying to talk to you, but Seven stuck to you like glue the whole time he was here. Which probably didn’t give Mr. Kim any better of an impression. You’re willing to bet you knew the conversation… You’d gotten it a few times at the salon, thanks to your ex-boyrfriend--excuse you, “ex-fiance.” 

“You don’t have to put up with it, you know.” 

“There are good men in this world!” 

“You can go to the police.” 

Poor Mr. Kim. 

And you can’t say anything… You just have to let him leave with a slightly worse opinion of mankind. 

“…I can’t believe your brother broke through the glass,” you mutter. “How did he even do that? I’m on the fifteenth floor!” 

“I don’t know. You’d probably know better since you were there,” Seven says blankly. “I don’t want to think about it.” Yeah, you suppose that makes two of you, and yet you can’t seem to _stop_ thinking about it. Your sleep had been restless and fitful most of the night. When you woke up, it had been in a cold sweat. Seven had been by your bed, and God help you, you’d thought for a second he was Saeran. You’d almost decked him! Thank God Seven’s eyes were gold, not that sickly green. 

You’d rushed to the bathroom then, making your stammered excuses along the way, and had a nice long panic attack in the shower while Saeran’s voice echoed in your head. 

“How will I play with you?”  
“Don’t fight.” 

Couldn’t breathe, pressure of an arm against your neck—

It had been a while before you’d been able to come out. 

Back in the present, Seven is scolding you, you think. You missed a bit. 

“—can you really stay that calm? You’ve been chatting me up since yesterday… you’re really strange. Aren’t you scared that there’s a bomb there?” 

“W-ell,” you say, thinking. “It’s been here the whole time… if anything, I’m safer than I’ve been, with you here. So it doesn’t do me much good to be scared now.” 

“It’s nice to see you be positive, but you should always be careful,” Seven says, frowning. “I didn’t come here out of a sense of justice. I came because you’re in serious danger.” 

“Yeah, I got that feeling when a man crashed in my window from the roo…f…” 

The **roof**. 

Of course… you’re on the top floor. He’d come from the roof… The roof where you always go. The roof where you’ve gone every day that you’ve been here. You could have very easily been on the roof. He could have been on the roof some other time you were up there! You feel your heart seizing in your chest. Meanwhile, Seven’s still talking. 

“Aren’t you supposed to get angry at me? I’m the one who put you in danger…” That snaps your focus back a little, though you still feel a bit hazy. “I’m so angry at myself… why aren’t you mad at me?” 

“It’s not your fault. Why should I be angry at you? If it weren’t for you, I would have been—“ You swallow, hard, to stabilize your voice. “Kidnapped then. It’s thanks to you that I’m f-fine.” You sounded pretty confident despite the stutter… you give yourself an A-. 

“…That’s not important. Your life was at risk as a result of what I did. I wish none of this ever happened. That bomb, and you joining the organization!” 

“Don’t say that!” you snap… okay, you shout. Guess this time it’s your turn to randomly scream at Seven. “I’m glad! I’m glad I downloaded that app and listened to the obviously creepy stranger!” 

_“You could have died!”_

“ **I said I’m glad!** ” you shout right back. This yelling match would surely convince Mr. Kim--and all of the neighbors--that you’re a very healthy couple. 

“Don’t download weird apps on your phone, seriously!” Seven snaps. “Ugh… It’s none of my business. I’m going to do what I can now. You just stay still and stay safe. I’m going to put on my headphones and work now, so don’t bother me.” 

“Your headphones again? Aren’t you just avoiding me at this point?” you say, stomping your foot. It’s childish, but you’re on edge. 

Seven just slides his headphones on and turns his attention back to his laptop. Soon, the litany of him muttering to himself starts again, a sure sign he’s not paying attention to you at all. 

Whatever. You need to go to the bathroom. 

You slam the door a little hard, but whatever. 

You just turn the water in the sink on this time, since Seven has his headphones on. Then you sink onto the toilet and let yourself rock back and forth, letting the panic wash over you the way you couldn’t in front of Seven. You have to keep it together for him. For everyone in the RFA, because they’re all obviously coming unhinged. 

But the bathroom. The bathroom is private. 

Things that happen in the bathroom don’t count, so you don’t have to feel guilty about them.

* * *

The dam doesn’t break until noon. In retrospect, it was probably inevitable. Everyone else knowing about the bomb makes it feel more real. If they'd reacted like, "oh, a bomb, of course, basic security that," then it might have felt less obscenely ridiculous to you, but of course they’d all freaked out… leaving you to comfort them, by and large, and pretend the whole thing didn’t freak you out. If you weren’t the strong one, who would that leave? Jumin? No one takes their emotional cues from Jumin fucking Han! But they take them from you. 

Your semi-regular panic bouts in the bathroom have been keeping you together, for a limited definition of "together." You'd just gone into the kitchen to get something, anything with caffeine in it, when you see it... 

On a good day, you're scared of spiders. Even the little ones freak you out at their mere concept. But this isn't a tiny house spider. No. This is some kind of horrifying monstrosity of a beast. It must have come in from outside while the window was broken. You tell yourself that to avoid considering that it could A) be an indoors spider, B) have been inside for a long time. 

The scream catches in your throat. You can't bother Seven—he’ll yell at you again, and your fragile nerves can’t handle that right now. You’d just barely managed to calm down. Of course, you realize immediately how stupid that is. What are you going to do, just stand here, paralyzed, watching a giant fucking spider until he wanders in for a glass of water and notices the staring contest? But... you don't want to interrupt... He's only told you a hundred times to stop pestering him. 

Almost automatically, without looking away from the spider, your hand dials his number. That'll be the deciding factor. If he answers, then you can tell him about the spider. If not, you'll just, uh... you'll just... 

Fffffigure something else out. 

"Again? You don't give up, do you?" 

You've never been so simultaneously relieved and annoyed with a person. "Then don't pick up," you snap, like an idiot, still staring directly at a giant spider that's eyeing you like its next meal. God. You can feel tears starting to burn in your eyes. You'll have to go to the bathroom ASAP, but the spider... 

"I didn't want to... damn it. Next time, I won't. I'll turn back first, and if I can't see you, then I'll pick up." If he turned around now, he wouldn't be able to--no, he can probably see you standing in the kitchen from where he's sitting. Can't see the spider, though. Of course. "So tell me. What's going on? The system looks fine..." 

Oh God, thank God, he asked. You weren't sure you'd be able to say it. "There's um... there's um... a really, really big spider." 

You'd kind of expected him to laugh at you, or be exasperated that you'd call him for such a stupid reason. Instead, he springs into action, scrambling into the kitchen as he stands. Under other circumstances, it would be adorable, the way he claws himself across the ground to practically launch himself between you and the horrifying spider. 

There's a lot of swearing, and a lot of scrambling for pesticide under the sink that you hadn't even realized had been there. The monster dies horribly, scrambling away with its godawful monster legs and, and-- 

That's when the dam breaks. 

Such a _stupid_ reason. 

Your legs shake violently, threatening to send you collapsing you onto the ground, but you manage to remain standing. Your stomach lurches--you're suddenly very glad you'd neglected to eat breakfast. 

"Whew..." Seven says, turning around. "Alright... everything's good. ...Huh? You-you're crying? Why!?" 

No reason, nothing to see here, there are 0 mental breakdowns in this vicinity. No one having trouble coping, N O P E. That's what you want to get across. Instead, what you half-sob out is, "I-I-I wanted to tell you before... b-but I didn't want to bother you." 

You can't quite clearly see Seven's expression. Your whole body feels like it might give out at any second; your vision is blurred with tears. And you're still clutching your phone to your ear like an absolute moron despite the fact Seven is, in fact, standing directly in front of you. He makes a little aborted movement, like he was starting to reach out but his arm decided it knew better and wouldn't move... or maybe the opposite, and his arm was starting to move on its own. 

"...I'm just busy working. I'm not mad at you or anything." 

Bless his heart, it’s both the exactly right and exactly wrong thing to say. Your quiet tears turn into full-blown waterworks; your legs finally give way and you slide onto the linoleum, sobbing loudly. 

Sooooo stupid. 

But... yeah... you suppose if you're being honest with yourself--something you're not overly fond of doing--you'd been pretty sure he was mad at you. Over what you’d done to the desk, over your stupid antics, over anything and everything… because that’s what seemed to be irritating him about you. Everything. Your clothes, your attitude, every little thing about you seemed to get under his skin. 

It would have been one thing if he was just different in person than online. You get that… you are too, obviously. It’s not like you’re happy and fun all the time… But the entire time he’s been here, he wouldn’t make eye contact, he wouldn't even LOOK at you. He keeps telling you to leave him alone, to stop pestering him, to stop making noise, to stop stretching like that. You'd tried to accommodate him, for a while… you were concerned about him, and guilty, and to be honest, a little bit scared, especially of his yelling. But it hadn't seemed to matter! He'd even gotten irritated when you'd just taken a shower! And you’d needed one really badly! You’re pretty sure you’d peed a little bit when his brother had started whispering into your ear about how much he was looking forward to torturing you. 

So hearing him say he wasn't mad at you just causes the rest of your quickly built, flimsy walls--propped up with toothpicks and hope--to crash catastrophically around you. And now you're sobbing on the kitchen floor like a complete fucking lunatic, great. You’d gone a whole day without crying in front of Seven, saving all your tears for the bathroom. But all for naught, it seems. 

Seven seems almost as panicked as when he'd seen the spider. He keeps glancing around the kitchen as if he'll find something he can spray on _you_ to make you stop crying. "God... Don't cry. What should I do?" He seems to be mostly talking to himself, but he's still on the phone, so you can hear him loud and clear right in your ear. 

He kneels down in front of you. "I-I'll go look at every corner in this house. Stop crying." 

Right. 

He thinks you're having a complete mental breakdown over the concept of spiders. 

Great. 

Now he probably thinks you're annoying _and_ completely pathetic. Wonderful. Excellent. Perfect. Just... fucking... perfect. 

“I c-can’t stop shaking, haha,” you say, trying to make a humorous observation and completely failing. 

“Yeah… Your hands—“ Seven makes another little movement towards you, which he stops short. 

“Y-you could hold my hand?” The look he gives you makes you backtrack almost immediately. “I-i-it’s just, i-it won’t stop shaking b-but y-you don’t, I mean—“ 

“…Can I really hold your hand?” Seven asks, and you realize after hearing it in his voice that his expression had been one of awe. 

Wordlessly, you reach your hand towards his. They meet in-between you two, and lace together like it’s the most natural thing in the world. His hand is so warm… yours is so cold. You drop your phone, and Seven catches your other hand in his. The two of you just kneel there on the kitchen floor, hands locked. 

Slowly, your shaking begins to calm. 

“Your hands are so small...” Seven murmurs. He runs a thumb along the side of one of your fingers. He looks… mystified. You feel the same way, looking at him. He blinks, then seems to realize you’re watching him. “O-oh... I-I'm not doing anything weird! I just want to comfort you…” 

“Seven, I know… I asked you to,” you say quietly. 

“Are you feeling better? You’re still crying…” 

"Just stay with me?" your stupid, traitorous mouth is saying. But, remarkably, perhaps through the power of Being A Crying Girl, he acquiesces. 

“Okay, I’ll stay next to you… but I have to work. Come over to the corner.” He helps you stand, and leads you back to the corner where he’s been working and making a mess he refuses to let you clean. You don’t let his hand go. “Here… …Bu-but just turn your back on me. I can't focus if you're looking at me. Sit with your back turned, okay?” 

In short order, you're sitting behind him, facing away. Your backs are touching, because physical contact is the only thing that's even slightly helping to stop your idiotic crying. And it's not like you can just lay your head on him while he's hacking... not that he'd let you, in any case. There go your fantasies of discovering whole new ways for two people on laptops to cuddle. Right now, you're just focusing on minimizing your trembling. You don't want him to get the wrong idea... or realize how hard you're working to keep yourself together... ...Well. More like pull yourself back together. “Keeping” yourself together pretty much flew out the fucking window… 

…Poor choice of words, given what came _in_ through that window… 

Your whole body shudders, and you tuck your legs up to your chest, closing your eyes. You can’t go to the bathroom right now, so you need to calm down. The warmth of Seven’s back against yours… focus on that. If you hold yourself still… you can feel him breathing. You let your head drop back onto his shoulder. …This is nice. You can relax like this, you think. Match your breathing to his… Bask a little in his warmth, just for now...

* * *

She fell asleep against his back. It’s a bit hard to move, because he’s worried she’ll fall over or wake up, but… she needs the sleep. Still, Seven is a bit relieved when she finally wakes up and wanders over to the bathroom. She spends a lot of time there, so he doesn't really notice right away when she doesn't come back to pester him again. He pauses, taking his headphones off. The water isn’t running… She isn’t on the bed or couch. There are only so many places in this apartment!! 

She isn’t in the kitchen or the bathroom!!! 

“Yu? Yu?!” Shit! Where had she gone! Frantically, he dials her. He can’t hear it ringing anywhere in the apartment… and with every ring, his heart sinks further into his stomach. She isn’t answering. Oh god… what happened?! What happened while he wasn’t paying attention?! T-the video! The CCTV! He has to check! 

\--

Ah, shit… 

You haven’t even been gone for ten minutes, and you’ve somehow missed a call from Seven. Shit… you’d hoped he wouldn’t notice until you got back. You’d barely left the building… you’d gone right to the store next door and come back. You’d been feeling more and more claustrophobic, even with Seven there… or maybe moreso with him there. Your last panic fit in the bathroom had convinced you that he wouldn’t let you leave… so you’d left to prove yourself wrong. You… just had to know that you could. 

You’d been absolutely terrified walking across the street, but it wasn’t like Saeran could just swoop down and kidnap you in the middle of a crowded shopping mart… You’re waiting for the elevator now. You consider just waiting to get back to talk to Seven… but even as you think that, the phone rings again. …You should answer it… 

“Ya?” 

You should answer it _better than that_. Oh well. 

“Are you okay? Where are you? Why didn't you pick up? Where did you go on your own?” 

“I’m fine, Seven.” 

“I thought you were still in the bathroom! I had to check the security feed on the hallway to see that you left! That was 7 minutes ago! I didn't realize that you'd left for 7 minutes... What if something happened in that time?” 

“I said I was going out. It’s not my fault if you didn’t hear because of your headphones. I even waved to try and get your attention.” 

It’s petty. You know it’s petty. 

“If you felt that frustrated staying inside, you should have just taken off my headphones and made me listen to you!” He pauses, then his voice gets a bit quieter. “Are you mad that I was ignoring you?” 

Well… a little bit, yes, but when he puts it like that, you feel bad. You just stay silent. 

“You do realize how dangerous the situation is right now, right? How could you leave on your own even when you know a hacker is after this place...! Some strange person could have been waiting outside to kidnap you!” 

“I was careful! And I only went to the store across the street.” 

“Across the street? Where are you now?” 

“I'm waiting for the elevator downstairs. It's taking some time to come down.” 

“...I should have put a GPS tracking device on your clothes. Oh... I brought a couple here.” 

“…What.” 

“You wandered off! You put a chip in cats that do that, you know!” 

“I’m not a cat! …But I don’t actually mind,” you admit. “If it’ll help you feel better. Just make sure no one else can track me with it, and tell me which articles of clothing you put it on. I’ll cooperate if you’re honest with me…” 

“…Alright. I’m kind of surprised you agreed to it that fast… is this another weird thing you’re into?” 

“Stop inventing fetishes for me in your head! I have plenty of my own, I don’t need you to add them!” you snap. Loudly. A lady with a child glares at you and then decides they’re taking the stairs instead. Whoops… 

“Okay! Sorry! Give me your jacket when you get back so that I can attach it, okay? Are you in the elevator yet?” 

“It’s here now.” 

“Why in the world did you leave?” 

“I… I just… Needed some things.” It’s only a lie by omission, sort of. A half lie by omission. That’s not even a lie. “I tried to get Honey Buddha Chips for you... but I couldn't find them at the store, of course. I even tried to bribe the cashier…” 

“...You don't need to care about me. I told you to leave me alone just to work... Why don’t you listen to me?” 

“Technically, I did. Technically, I left you alone. I left you alone so well I left the building.” 

“Don’t joke!” Seven snaps. “Seriously! I get so anxious at the tiniest things right now. Where do you get the courage...? Hurry back inside... if you're hungry, there's a sandwich inside the fridge so go eat that.” 

“A sandwich…?” 

“Yeah. I made it so I can't vouch for the taste, but it will fill you up.” 

That’s not the only thing of his you want to fill you up—WOW okay, calm down there Yu. It’s not your fault. Sometimes your brain just turns things into innuendo. You think it comes from writing erotica all day. 

“You made sandwiches…? When did you have time? …Did you make them for me?” 

“No, I made it when I was making my own. I didn't have the time to care about the taste so it looks sloppy. I made them while you were in the bathroom. There's tuna, ham, and egg, so pick what you want. We have orange, grape, and grapefruit juice.” 

“…You did all that while I was in the bathroom?” 

“I was anxious. … I really... I really just wanted to eat all three types of sandwiches... so don't take it the wrong way.” 

Wow, that’s pretty tsundere, Seven… but okay… 

“Oh... I just heard the elevator. You're on it, right?” 

“Yeah.” 

“I'll be waiting in front of the door. I can't focus until I see you... Hurry.” 

“Okay, okay. I’m hanging up now.” 

Seven opens the door as you’re walking down the hallway. He practically sprints towards you, then grabs your shoulders and leads you back into the room. It’d be cute if he weren’t so terrified, you guess… 

“Sorry,” you begin, but he cuts you off. 

“Just don’t do it again! Go get a sandwich. And give me your jacket!”

* * *

It’s really hard on everyone. They’re freaking out, about the bomb, about the lies, about the secrets. You can’t blame them, but it’s making it a lot harder on you. Everyone, even Seven, appears to be of the opinion that you should be panicking. It’s kind of ironic, considering panic is your number one weakness… But maybe decades of practice with the emotion has finally taught you how to keep it in your goddamn pants, so to speak. 

Ironically, you feel the most relief from Jumin, who’s at least staying focused. You can tell he’s freaking out too, of course… he’s just better at hiding it. He has his own ways of coping. They’re not yours, but you respect that. Same for Zen, who needs to take a Drama Protagonist Anger Drive in order to feel better. You wish that was how _Seven_ made himself feel better. According to him, his normal reaction to feeling shitty is to work. 

You hate to be the one to tell him, but you’re pretty sure that’s **not fucking helping him feel better.**

He’s gone out for a bit, God only knows why. You’re worried sick. He yelled at you for going out, but God _forbid_ he tell _you_ why _he’s_ going out. Not like **_you’d_** worry just as much as him!! You’d like to take your own anger drive right now, but oh, that’s right, your car is in Jumin’s fucking garage. Too bad you can’t find Seven’s car. You still know a thing or two about hotwiring! Of course, that car is almost definitely being tracked by some evil shadowy intelligence agency. It’d be a great way to get them off Seven’s tail… if you didn’t know for a **solid fact** that for all his talk about maintaining distance, he’d panic and chase you to the ends of the earth if you tried to help him the way he’s helping you. 

STUPID. 

HANDSOME. 

_CHARISMATIC._

**JERK.**

UGH. 

You kick the chair. It hurts your toe. Finally, you decide that if rage driving is out of the question, you’ll just rage shower. That’s right! You’ll scream into the stream! At least then you’ll stink less. Seven gets twitchy when you’re wet, so at least this way you can do it while he’s gone. Or if he comes back while you’re in there, you can come out dripping wet and torment him! Win-win! 

\--

It does feel good to get out of your clothes—how long have you been wearing them now?—and into some clean, hot water. You’re lathering up and enjoying yourself when the phone rings. 

You almost fall lunging out of the shower. You quickly dry your hand off on a towel and hit answer and speakerphone. 

“Seven? Is that you? Is everything—“ 

“Everything’s fine. Don't... don't say anything. I have something to tell you.” 

Your heart freezes solid in your chest, as does the blood in your veins. What is he going to say? Oh God, he didn’t LEAVE leave, did he?! What if he’s not coming back??? Did he sneak away from you?! 

“I think I overreacted earlier. All I want is to spend my day peacefully with any troubles...” You’re in the wrong damn career path then buddy, hate to tell you. “That's so hard. I feel like I've become so sensitive. And I'm taking all my anxiety out on you.” 

“It’s—“ 

“Don’t say it’s fine. It’s not. It's my feelings. I'm the one who's feeling it… but I can't control it, and that's so hard. I'm sorry... if I hurt your feelings in any way.” 

Your heart has thawed and started beating again, though it still aches. “It’s… I understand, Seven, so—“ 

“Shh.” Your mouth seals itself shut. “You know those stickleback fishes that only hurt each other by getting closer?” Weirdly, you do, because you took a marine biology class in college. “I'm just like that. You shouldn't try to get closer to me. Because... I was born like a stickleback. I'm someone who hurts people who come closer to me. So keep your distance.” 

You open your mouth and the beginnings of a protest come out. He’s wrong! He’s super wrong in so many ways! But he cuts you off. 

“No, don't interrupt me and listen. Please deal with your useless feelings towards me.” U-useless… “I'm not a good man. Good people like you shouldn't be with me. I'm sorry I have to say this. You deserve someone better.” He must hear the choking sound as you muffle something that’s either a shout of protest or a sob. “...Don't be sad. Even that is a waste. It's enough that you are alive and well... …I need to hang up.” 

At the end there it sounded like even he was about to cry. Or might have already been crying. His voice was catching… the sound made your heart wrench in your chest like someone had a grip on it and was tearing it out. 

He’s wrong… He’s wrong! Damnit! But you can’t even form a coherent thought as to why. Right now it just hurts. Everything hurts. You sink into the puddle of water forming on the tile, and for a second, you’re ready to burst into tears and scream all the pain out. But you just sort of sit there for a moment, staring blankly forward… and then you stand up. 

He _is_ wrong. You’re not sure how to make him understand right now, but he is. Sometimes it feels like your whole life has just been people telling you what was good for you. Saying that they knew you better and knew the world better and you should just listen to them. Seven is doing that too… he means well, but that’s exactly what he’s doing. 

Your emotions aren’t useless. 

They never were. 

You step back into the shower and rinse the soap out of your hair, almost mechanically. 

Maybe you’re a complete nutcase. Maybe you’re totally, absolutely, one hundred percent in over your head. Maybe you’ve almost died like a BUNCH of times over the last week. Maybe these are all people you don’t really know. Maybe Seven is a person you don’t really know. 

But the RFA makes you feel happy. And Seven makes you feel alive. Even if you’re hurting, you know that means you’re alive. It’s so much better than the blank emotionless darkness you were living in before. 

You towel yourself off, and that’s when you realize you’d neglected to bring a change of clothes in with you… You’d been too angry to think of it at the time. Well, you’re NOT putting on old dirty clothes after you just got clean. You’ll just go change. Seven’s not here right now anyway… God only knows if he’s even coming back, though you don’t want to think about that right now. 

You wrap the towel around yourself to keep from excessive dripping on the carpet, and step out into the apartment. It’s chilly when you’re wet, ugh… You need to get some clothes, stat. 

But of course, the gods of dramatic irony couldn’t have that… right then, the apartment door opens. 

You jump, and spin. For the first half second, all you expect to see is Saeran again. But of course, it’s the front door… it’s just Seven. Thank God! He’s back! But why is he looking at you like—

Oh. 

Right. 

Towel. 

You’re only wearing a towel. 

With a shriek, you dart back into the bathroom and slam the door. 

“W-w-why were you naked?!” Seven yelps from behind the door. 

“I wasn’t!” you snap. “I just forgot to grab clothes!! Go get me some!” 

“Out of your dresser? Just change into what you have!” 

“I’m not putting on dirty clothes after a shower! My dresser isn’t made of toxins, so just go grab me some clothes!” 

“Fine… fine…” Seven mutters, and you hear him walking across the apartment. “…Do you seriously not own any PANTS?” he shouts over a few minutes later. 

“Why are you rummaging through?! Just grab something!” 

“I can’t even tell if this is a shirt or not…Is it a skirt? Oh! Here’s a shirt! Okay, I’ve got it! I’m coming over.” 

You open the door slightly and thrust your hand out. Some cloth is shoved into your grip, and you pull it inside. You look down at what Seven gave you. “…Seven?” 

“Look, if it doesn’t go together, don’t blame me! I don’t know about fashion!” 

“Seven. There are no underwear here. There’s no bra. Is this your way of telling me you don’t want me to wear underwear…? Oh my… That’s pretty forward.” 

“G-gah! No! Nothing like that! I’m not going to bring your—!” 

“Well, I’m not going to put on jean shorts without underwear. Do you know how uncomfortable that is? Maybe you don’t know much about the anatomy down there, but—“ 

“You don’t need to tell me about anatomy! J-just… hold on!” You hear a shuffling, then a clunk, and then more footsteps. “Here!” You open the door a little again, and suddenly your entire underwear drawer is wedged through. You glance around the open door and see Seven, looking away, eyes firmly shut. 

“…Pfffahahahaha oh my God…” 

“S-stop laughing and just take what you need!” 

“Okay, okay… I want you to know I could really torture you here, though, and I’m not, because I’m nice!” You rummage quickly through the drawer for panties, a garter, and a bra. You’ll get stockings from your drawer later. “You can take it now. Thanks, Seven.” 

He puts the drawer back while you get dressed. He’d grabbed your pair of pink jean shorts and an oversized top. No doubt he was thinking about how it’d be baggy, but you hope he likes the sight of bare shoulders, because this thing doesn’t even begin to fit properly. Normally you wear a tank top under it. 

You step out, fully—or mostly—dressed, and find Seven already at his laptop. 

“…Good thing you didn’t come in three minutes later, or I probably would have been totally naked and getting dressed,” you say mildly. You guess you’re a bit of a sadist, because you’ll forever cherish the way he chokes and turns even brighter red.

* * *

You go pretty much straight into pestering Seven. You probably shouldn’t be, given that he just gave you a speech on how the two of you couldn’t be together and how your feelings were useless. But never let it be said that you have a good sense of timing. And if anything, that sort of thing just makes you more stubborn. You’re not even trying to obey him anymore. 

“Seven~ Seven~ Seven~ Hey~~~” You flop your head down onto his leg, staring up at him. “Oy, Seven!” He scowls down at you and pushes your head off his lap. Guh! Frustrating… You sit up, intending to blow on the back of his neck… but he’s wearing a hoodie. Damnit… Neck security! Well, there’s one thing you can always fall back on… 

Seven’s ringtone for you is just a normal ring. You hadn’t thought anything of it until you heard Jumin calling him… He had a different ringtone for him. He either had set a special ringtone just for Jumin, or had a different ringtone for you and changed it to a default ring at some point. You’re not sure which is more likely. 

He glares at you and ignores the call, so you call three more times until he finally grabs it and answers. 

“Seriously?!” 

“Thanks for the panties~!” 

“Augh! Why would you call me when you're right behind me? Now I hear your voices twice and my heart... Never mind. I’m going to hang up and go back to work!” 

“Then let me sit beside you! You keep pushing me over.” 

“My lap is not ‘beside’ me. Besides, you're gonna get curious and ask everything I'm doing. How can I not get distracted?” 

“I’ll poke you,” you threaten. 

“Then I'll poke you too.” 

“Don’t! I’m super ticklish!” 

“Don’t tell me that! Augh… Stop messing around and hang up. I need to take care of this as fast as I can for the both of us so I need to focus.” 

“Why don't you get a snack and take a short break? You’ve been working since you got back, and I don’t think you’ve eaten all morning.” 

“No, I don't want to eat. I don't want to waste my time... Can't you eat on your own?” 

“No. It’s a serious problem.” 

“Did you starve before I came, then?” he says sarcastically. “’Seven~ Let me feed you this bulgolgi~’ I think you were eating pretty well.” 

“You need to eat, Seven! Humans have to eat to live! I’m a doctor, you know!” 

“You’re not even a nurse, dropout.” 

“Harsh!” 

“Stop whining beside me. God... What am I supposed to do...?” 

He pauses, then gets a glint in his eye you haven’t seen before. He makes a low, threatening growling sound in his throat, and you jump. What the…? 

“I'm going to bite you if you keep interrupting me,” he growls in a cutely “threatening” voice… just like the 707 you knew before! You haven’t heard that voice in so long! You feel like you’re gonna cry in joy! 

“Oh no~ I’m so scared~~~ Eeek!” you squeak cutely. 

“Augh! Stop making cute noises! I can't focus as it is...” Seven lets out a frustrated huff, then eyes you. “I really should bite you. Come here.” He shifts his laptop onto the ground and moves towards you, pulling himself onto his hands and knees. 

“Wh-what? Aaah!” you shriek as he lunges towards you. You kick against the floor quickly, scampering away. 

“What? You're running away now? Wait!” Seven exclaims. He jumps forward again, and this time catches your foot. You shriek again, through uncontrollable giggles. Seven yanks you back towards him, and you slide along the ground. Thank god you’re wearing shorts and not a skirt. 

“I’ve been compromised! Go on without meeeee…” you yelp while continuing to twist around in Seven’s grip. You manage to get a few good pokes in, as threatened. He finally gets you pinned when he gets his hands around your wrists. 

“Seriously! You’re so…” He stops, seeming to just how realize what kind of position the two of you are in. You’re super aware of it—you’ve been pinned down on the floor, and Seven is above you on his hands and knees, hands on your wrists… His hair frames his face like a wreath of fire… like the sun. 

“Are you gonna bite me now?” you ask, making a big show of being scared. You’d expected it to fluster him enough that he would get off of you, but he just sort of stays there. There’s something a little dark in his eyes that makes your heart skip a few beats. N… no way… He’s not seriously thinking about it…? He wouldn’t even touch your clean underwear earlier! 

But then, a beat later, he shoves himself off of you. “Go eat! I have to work!” he snaps, and plops right back down at his laptop. You just sort of lay on the floor for a minute, panting a bit and trying to rein back in your thoughts.

* * *

Seven is back to working. You’re working yourself, on the party. You don’t even have time to think about writing… you’re so busy. The party is in three days, and pretty much everyone is distracted by all the chaos… But if you believe in the future, then you need to work hard to make the party a success. 

A future… a successful party. A job at Jumin’s company. You need to set that up. There will be nothing lost if you wind up having to leave it all behind and go on the run with Seven. But if somehow this all works out, you’ll regret not working harder now. Plus… it gives you something to do. You bother Seven slightly less when you’re busy. 

You’d gotten some enjoyment out of pestering him, so you’d left Seven alone all afternoon… It’s getting late now, and he still hasn’t eaten. You’re kind of worried. It’s really nice to listen to him talk to himself about things you can’t understand. It’s like background music… But it’s time to snap him out of it and force him to eat something. No matter what he says, he needs to eat…! 

“Seven?” you call out, shifting up off of the bed. “Are you really okay? You haven’t eaten anything all day.” 

…He’s ignoring you. Can he not hear you with his headphones on…? You head over to him, but something catches your eye. A book… Is that one of yours? Or did Seven bring it? It looks like a kids’ book…? Curiously, you pick it up. It feels awkward… Oh. It falls open to one page in particular, because there was a drive hidden in there. Or had it fallen in? 

A floppy disk? Who still has floppy discs? Even your computer back home doesn’t have a drive for one of these. You used them when you were a kid… haha, seeing this thing brings back some memories. Come to think of it, even then, you used to keep stories you wrote on a floppy disc… You would carry it with you to libraries so that you could work on it, since your parents rarely let you use the computer. 

You didn’t even notice Seven’s litany of muttering stopping. You just see the book snap shut in front of you as a hand yanks it—and the disc—away from you. You jump backwards and thump against something warm… Seven’s chest. You look up. He’s looking down… and he looks pissed. 

“What are you doing right now?” he exclaims angrily. You stumble forward away from him, then turn around. 

“I-I was just looking…” 

“God… I don’t know if you’re lighthearted or dumb.” _Ouch._

“I’m sorry, I thought it was just—“ 

“Please listen carefully to what I have to say,” Seven interrupts, speaking firmly. “Do you know the saying, ‘curiosity kills the cat’?” You swallow. Had you accidentally stumbled into some important secret-agent thing? “You don’t have to be polite to me,” Seven continues darkly. “You can ignore me, avoid me, even get mad at me. But **don’t ever** get curious about what I do or the things I’ve brought. People who get curious without knowing anything, just thinking it’ll be alright… really make me tired.” 

“I-I-“ 

“They don’t know how dangerous I am and how many problems I have… They just look at me and think I won’t be much, and approach me.” His voice is a bit scary right now. “They try to open up around me without much thought at all. But they don’t even have the ability to handle the things inside… Just like you.” 

This is the sort of warning you should probably listen to. Maybe he’s right, and his life is more than you can comprehend, and you’re in way over your head. You kind of feel like you might be. You might have been in over your head since the second you hopped in your car to drive to this city. 

But you kind of think… maybe everyone’s just underestimating you a bit, too. 

You acted cute and silly, and everyone was happy to peg you as a friendly moron from day one. You didn’t think Seven thought of you that way, though. That was something you liked about him. Other people didn’t get your jokes… and just thought you were the stupid one when _they_ didn’t understand. But Seven understood. His mind was just fast as yours. 

And isn’t he kind of being arrogant, to think that he knows what you can and can’t handle…? 

“I just want to understand you, Seven,” you say firmly. “Is that so wrong?” 

“It’s strange. I don’t want to get close to you at all.” _O U C H._ “I’ve already told you. We can’t be family or friends. I don’t care what happens, as long as you are safe, normal, and alive.” 

“I think that’s the definition of caring what happens. And am I not allowed to care about you being safe, normal, and alive?” you challenge. 

“How slow are you?” he snaps. “How do you not have it figured out already? No matter how much you try to get to know me, it’s useless. The ending is already set for us.” 

“You’re the only one who thinks that!” you shout. “You don’t even care about what ending **I** want! You’re just deciding on your own!” 

“That’s because I actually understand what’s going on!” he shouts right back. “Seriously, are you even aware of the situation?!” 

“I’m not an idiot! Of course I am! There’s a bomb in my bedroom! A crazy person wants to kidnap and torture me! There’s a shadowy secret agency involved! My car is on the other side of the city and my life is in the hands of someone who can’t even look me in the eye! I’m aware of this situation! Everyone treats me like an idiot, or like I’m helpless! I’m so sick of it! Did you not see me toss Saeran over my back? Do you want me to do it to you too?! I will! You’re just deciding on your own without giving me a chance!!!” 

“Don’t waste that kind of chance on someone like me,” Seven says with a scowl. “If tossing me will help, then I’ll do it later. I have to work now.” 

“Oh my God!! You’re so frustrating!” you exclaim, throwing your hands up and stomping around the room. 

“That’s fine. Being angry is normal. Until the situation is stabilized, don't give me any attention, and don't forgive me for putting you in danger.” 

You glare at him. You want to throttle him. Or maybe kiss him. Or maybe both. He’s just so frustrating. Why can’t he understand? “I’m not angry at you for that! I’m upset because you won’t let me help!” 

“If you really care for me and want to help, don't pay me any attention and just stay far away from me. That's helping me... seriously.” 

“Fine. I’m going for a walk.” 

“You can’t leave the apartment!” Seven exclaims, looking alarmed. 

“Stop me by force, then,” you snap, and storm to the door. You half expect him to grab you, but he doesn’t. You’ve slammed the door behind you and stormed towards the elevator before you remember why… He put a GPS device in the jacket you’re wearing. 

…Whatever… You just need to clear your head. If it helps him to know where you are, you won’t get rid of it. You said you’d cooperate if he was honest with you about it, and he was. You just need fresh air.

* * *

You go up to the roof. It’s terrifying up here now, but you feel like you need to face it. If Saeran jumps you up here, you think you’re seriously angry enough to just fight him. At least it would be someone you could take out all your emotions on… 

The roof is freezing… it’s been grey and overcast all day, and it’s dusk now. The view from up here is really nice… those mountains are probably the ones Zen took that picture from… One day, you’d like to drive up there yourself, or even ride with Zen on his motorcycle. Would it be too much to dream about taking one of Seven’s sports cars? You suppose that drive he promised you is a bust now… Neither of you could have predicted this would happen. How had things gotten so serious so quickly? 

A week ago you’d been joking and having the time of your life. Now… God. 

Everyone expects you to be furious with Seven. With V. With the RFA. You’re probably the most irritated with V out of all of them, but you want to wait to see what he has to say about the whole situation. You know he’s keeping secrets, but so was Seven. You’re giving Seven the chance to be honest with you, so you should extend the same to V. 

As for Seven… Well, sometimes he’s pretty rough with you… But sometimes he’s not. You’d have to be an idiot not to see how conflicted he is. He’s going through some really crazy shit right now… And you’re mostly a stranger to him, so you can kind of understand where he’s coming from. You just wish he’d _listen_ to you more. You’re trying really hard to understand him and what’s happening. Why does everyone insist on treating you with these kid gloves? Seriously… it feels like Jumin is the only one who takes you seriously anymore. Well, maybe Yoosung, but he’s too busy with his mom to really focus on what’s going on. 

Heh… thinking about things you’re right about that everyone else was wrong about—Team Jumin Was Right for the win. If you survive this, you’re gonna have to rub that in more. Maybe you can convince Jumin to spring for a giant banner for the party… “JUMIN AND YU WERE RIGHT.” You can have confetti cannons. 

…There’s a grappling hook and rope still on the fucking roof, holy shit. Did Saeran leave this here…? You kind of want to kick it off the edge, but instead, you pick it up with the sleeve of your jacket. There could be… you dunno… fingerprints? Whatever. You’re not the secret agent here. But you’re gonna bring it downstairs. 

You stare at it for a minute. 

Saeran crashing in through the window. His grip on your neck, choking, can’t breathe. 

“How will I play with you? Oh… a lot of ideas are coming to mind.” Finger across your jaw. Cold like ice. 

It suddenly feels a lot colder up here… There’s no sun. 

You shudder. You should get this back to the apartment. To Seven. 

Maybe Seven’s right, and you’re just an idiot. Maybe you’re moving way too fast. Maybe none of what you’re doing is good for you, or good for him. Maybe you’re wrong about everything. Maybe all of this is just happening because you were in such a dark place before. 

But right now, the only things that feel like they matter are the party and Seven. You didn’t have anything before. You’d been ready to walk into a deathtrap. Now, you have these things you have to protect… You can’t accept that it’s wrong for you to fight to do that. No matter what anyone says… This is what’s important to you. You’ve wasted so much time in your life just listening to what other people told you was important. You’d let everything you really loved slip away. Not this time... This time it’ll be different, no matter what it costs. 

You head for the stairs. If all else fails, maybe you can use the rope to tie Seven up.

* * *

Well. That had been… bad. 

You’d been excited when you’d first seen V in the chat. Finally! Some answers! Some instructions! For a brief second, you’d felt like maybe it wouldn’t just be you and Seven against the world. 

That feeling had quickly been dashed, though. V has been suspicious and evasive and... well, if there are love letters in that drawer, you’ll eat your hat. No one puts love letters in a desk with that much security. And even if there were, that wouldn’t be important right now. You’d wanted to give V the benefit of the doubt, but this was pretty damning. 

V has Seven so twisted up inside that you’re genuinely a little scared to approach him right now. You’re sitting on your bed watching him. It’s like watching a bomb tick… and having very recently watched just that, you’re super qualified to make that comparison. 

It’s about that point when Seven’s bag begins to meow. 

You stare at it… even moreso when something begins to crawl out of it. 

…Is that… a robot cat…? 

“God Seven, God Seven! I sense you are depressed, meow!” You should probably do something, but you’re a bit stunned. You just stare. “I automatically turn on when I sense that you are depressed, meow! The source of God Seven’s depression is bad service, meow! I analyzed, meow!” 

What the fuck… a psychic cat robot. Okay. Sure. 

“Shut up,” Seven says darkly, not even glancing over at the robot. 

“Cheer up, meow! I, Meowy, do not lose service, meow!” 

That is a terrible name for a cat robot. _You could have named it anything, Seven. You could have named it ANYTHING._ You will be devastated if “MEOWY” isn’t a clever acronym. 

“Be quiet… How did I turn this thing off… Damnit…” Seven is muttering as he turns the cat around in his hands. 

“Need explaining, meow!” 

“I said SHUT UP!” Seven shouts at the cat. That snaps you out of your daze. You should intervene. 

“Meowy wants to hear master meow~” 

“Meowy, look at me, meow~” you… meow, drawing the attention of Seven, if not the cat robot. Right. Why would it respond to your voice. 

“I can’t leave once I sense depression, meow! Cheer up, meow!” 

“Meowy,” you say desperately. “Let’s stay quiet for now, meow~” 

“That’s a voice I have to absolutely obey, meow~” Meowy says. “System shutting down meow~” 

You stare at the cat, and then over to Seven, hesitantly. What’s the right thing to say…? 

“Finally, it’s quiet,” Seven says, tossing the cat onto the ground. You slide onto your knees to catch it. 

“Th… things didn’t go very well with V, huh… A…are you okay?” Wow. Seriously? Who would be okay in this situation? Ugh… 

“Yu,” Seven says, eyes fixing on you. You swallow. “I know it’s odd to say this after I told you to stop paying attention to me, but whatever happens… don’t trust what V says.” 

“Well, haha, I didn’t really to begin with…” you reply with a sort of forced chuckle, clutching ‘Meowy,’ who _will_ receive a better name, to your chest. 

“I’m not joking,” says Seven. You hadn’t believed for a second he was. “God… I think you shouldn’t be involved with the RFA anymore.” 

“Well, I can understand why you’d say that… But I didn’t really trust V for a while now, to be honest… That’s why I was trying to get into the drawers.” You gesture towards the desk. 

Seven rubs his head. “I yelled at you, but now that he’s told me not to open the drawers… There’s something in there. If you’d forced it open, an alarm would have rung and the apartment would have gone into lockdown.” 

“It wouldn’t have blown up? But you said—“ 

“If you’d gone tampering with the alarm wires, it might have triggered the special security system. Don’t think you’re off the hook… that was seriously stupid. But I can control the alarms and the special security system, so if I want to, I can see everything. I’m sure he logged in because he heard that I’m here and got nervous about something. Something in the drawers…” 

“Well, the good news is that we’ve got all the tools we need if you want to break into it,” you say with another nervous chuckle. “I bought everything but a welding torch, and that’s because you need a permit for those, apparently.” 

“How did you even get those in here?” Seven asks with a sigh, eyeing you. “I went back over the security tapes, assuming I must have missed it, but…” 

“Uh… remember the second time I went clothes shopping? I maaaaaay have actually gone to a hardware store and put all the hardware bags inside clothing bags from the first trip…” 

Seven stares at you. You clear your throat awkwardly. “So, um, you should open the drawers, yeah?” 

Seven stares at you for a moment longer, then sighs. “I will someday. But not right now. I’m sure that there’s something that an RFA member should never see.” 

“I’ve only been an RFA member for like a week, and anyway, I’ve been trying to see it this whole time,” you argue. 

“No. Stop arguing with me. Now that my trust in V is shattered, I can barely keep sane right now.” 

“Seven… is there seriously nothing I can do to help?” 

“God… No. It’s nothing. I made you worry again…” 

“I’m made of 98% pure worry from concentrate, so don’t be upset about that…” 

“You’re always joking,” Seven says with a sigh. “I don’t know where you get the energy.” 

“The sun.” 

“…Don’t worry about the drawer. I’ll take care of it.” 

“I can’t help but think there’s something in there about Saeran… why he’s like that,” you push. “I’ve had the feeling there’s something in there for a while now… Now that V’s behaving like this, I can’t help but think I was right.” 

“You’re free to think what you want… but don’t care about it on my behalf. And don’t even mention that name. You should just forget it.” 

Right yes, you’ll just forget the name of the man who wants to kidnap you, yes. Definitely gonna happen. 

“From now on,” Seven continues, “I think you should forget about everything related to the RFA. Forget about the party. You’ll only be in danger, staying in some place like this. As soon as the hacker issue is solved, please leave.” 

“Excuse me?” you say, frowning. “Why are you trying to decide what I do?” 

“I’m telling you this because I know much more than you do.” 

“Then you could _tell_ me—“ 

“You’re free to do whatever you want… but my thoughts will not change,” Seven says firmly, cutting you off. “Even if you try to get involved with me, I’ll refuse everything. This is nothing for a person like you to be involved in. You’ll only ending up getting hurt.” 

“Isn’t that still my choice?” you say, frustrated, but trying not to snap. 

“Let’s stop talking about this.” Your hand twitches. You seriously want to shake him. “From now on, if I have to tell you anything concerning your safety, I’ll do it through the messenger.” 

Your face falls. “Wh-what?” 

“I’m going to go work. Don’t bother me.” 

“W-wait, Seven, what do you mean? You won’t talk to me? S-Seven?” He’s ignoring you. “Seven!” you cry. “Aren’t you being totally one-sided here?! You won’t even listen to me! You’re so stubborn!” You throw the cat onto the bed… at this rate, you’re afraid you’re going to throw it at him. “Why is everything your decision?! What about me?! What am I supposed to do about all these feelings for you?!?” 

Seven turns towards you and _YELLS_. **“I TOLD YOU NOT TO BOTHER ME!”** You flinch, but you’re so worked up that you don’t retreat, you just glare right back. “I don’t care about your feelings, alright!? Think about the fact you’re living with a bomb right now! You’re already in danger, because of me and the RFA! There’s no guarantee that something more dangerous won’t happen in the future! And your chances of being in danger will multiply by being with a guy like me! Do you understand!? How are you going on about feelings right now? Just worry about staying alive! Those should be your priorities!” 

“You don’t pick my priorities!” you yell right back. “I’m the one who decides what’s important to me!” 

“How can you be so blasé about this?! I can’t understand! If you get in danger again! I’ll…!” 

You force yourself not to yell. “Seven, I know you’re worried about me… But don’t avoid me, please!” 

Seven shakes his head and lets out an exasperated laugh. “You’re free to think whatever you want, but seriously… stop it. After you’re safe and the hacker problem is solved, we’ll never see each other again.” Your stomach lurches. “So stop wasting your emotions on me. I don’t deserve it… It’s all wasted.” 

“Y… you… you’re,” you try, but your voice is shaking too much. You’re not sure when you started crying. 

“Damn… Don’t look at me like that! God!” Seven says, throwing his hands into the air. “This won’t work. I’m going out to the hallway. I’ll come in when you’re sleeping, so meanwhile, sort out your emotions.” 

“Seven, wait—“ He’s grabbing his stuff to take outside. “Seven don’t—Stop! Stop!” 

The door slams behind him. You slam both fists against it, and sink onto your knees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only two more! I'm tired! Whoo! Feel free to follow me on [Tumblr](http://elvensemi.tumblr.com/information), or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ElvenSemi) if you want update notifications thrown directly into your face.


	9. Day 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Say it with me kids! One more chapter! One more chapter! PHEW ONLY ONE MORE. 
> 
> This was a really long chapter, and the next one is even longer. A wild ride from beginning to start... or so I hope, anyway. Please feel comfortable leaving me commentary! I'm under the weather, so I could use the cheering up. x'D

Seven is still outside. He won’t respond, and when you try to open the door, it sticks. You have no idea what he did, considering the door opens _into_ the apartment… 

You feel shredded up inside. Has all this seriously been worth nothing? You can’t accept that! You can’t accept any of it. Stupid jerk! Stupid asshole! You kick the door again out of frustration. You just stub your toe, though, and you don’t feel any better. You pace back and forth around the room. You sit on your bed for a bit, cuddling the lifeless cat robot… You don’t know how to turn it back on. 

In the end, you wind up doing the thing that you always seem to do in this situation... You call Seven. 

And again. 

And again. 

Until he picks up. 

"Why are you still calling me?! I almost just ignored it again. I told you not to call me, but you're doing it anyway?" he hisses. "I guess you don't think I'm serious?" 

"Well, you answered, so..." 

"It's late. Just go to bed!" 

"Like hell I'm just going to go to sleep--!" 

"I'm going to push you the more you try to come into my life. I don't care if you get hurt." 

"And _I_ don't care if you keep pushing me. Have you heard what they say about an unstoppable force and an immoveable object?" 

"What do you mean you don't care?! You can't change my feelings with something like that!" 

"What can I change your feelings with, then?" 

"Argh! Are you a robot or something? You. Will. Get. Hurt. Stop hurting yourself, and stop interfering in my life! Why are you so interested in me, anyway? I'm nothing!" 

"You're not nothing! You're--" 

"You are so persistent. It's ridiculous. Ugh... Nevermind... I don't want to talk. You do whatever you want if you want to get hurt. I warned you." 

"I'm--" 

"And I'm not going to take your calls! So don't bother!!" 

Well. 

That was _super_ fucking productive. 

Not that just sulking on the bed was any more productive. And there aren’t even emails coming in this late. Ugh! You need something to do or you’re going to go insane and climb out the window!! If only you… 

Your eyes fall on the desk… and then over to the discarded tools, which Seven has left you alone with. 

He said the bomb wouldn’t go off, right? Just an alarm. An alarm he could turn off anyway. It’s not like the police would come. It would alert, what… V? Seven? Ha. You set the cat robot on the bed and stand, pulling your hair back into a bun again. 

Time to get something done.

* * *

You halfway expect Seven to come bursting through the door as you’re pulling the desk back away from the wall. But he’s probably listening to music again, to drown out any door pounding or phone calling. Let’s see if he hears an alarm… Not that you’re going to set it off on purpose. You’re just not going to be scared of it. You’d rather set of the alarm than risk anything happening with the bomb… though Seven SAID he disconnected it so that the bomb wouldn’t go off. Still, you definitely feel like you’re working with a bomb. You’re a lot more nervous than you were while doing this a few days ago. 

The messenger dings… You had your phone next to you, just in case. If Seven called and you didn’t answer, he’d definitely charge back in. You’ve also been calling him every ten minutes or so. He never answers, which is fine… you’re just doing it so that he knows you’re still awake and doesn’t barge in. 

He calls you a lot of things when he’s mad… dumb being the one that stings the most. But you’re smarter than him right now, aren’t you? He’s feeling such strong emotions that he can’t think clearly. You check the messenger… it’s uncomfortable to type wedged behind the desk like this… if it’s just Zen or someone, you’re not going to bother right now… But no, it’s Seven. 

707: “Yu…”   
707: “Why are you still up?”   
Yu: “I was just thinking about what you said earlier. I don’t really intend to sleep.”   
707: “I must have hurt your feelings.”   
707: “ **I had no choice… that’s the truth.** ”   
707: “From now on, if I have anything important to say, I’ll say it here.”   
707: “I have something to tell you regarding your safety.” 

You can’t help but snorting. You’re about elbow deep in a desk that might still be wired to a bomb, which Seven left you alone with, but okay. Let’s talk about ~safety~! 

707: “I said a lot of things to V,”   
707: “but I meant the last thing I said and that will not change.”   
707: “ **I no longer trust V.** ”   
707: “And this is just a suggestion to everyone…”   
707: “but I don’t think you should trust V either.”   
707: “For your safety.” 

You haven’t trusted V for a while now, so that’s nothing new… But it’s not really a damning statement, either. You’re not a naturally trusting person, so just “not trusting” someone doesn’t mean… you don’t know. Something really bad. It sounds bad, but it’s just your default state. 

You sort of half focus on your work, half focus on the chatroom as Seven explains the situation. You focus more on it when you realize he’s explaining more than you knew previously… Not a lot, but a bit… V got him in contact with the agency the first time... The real question is, how did _V_ have a connection with a shady intelligence agency?? It doesn’t seem like it’s related to the government at all! The government doesn’t recruit middle schoolers… You hope. Why did V know a group like that? 

And Saeran… Just saying the name makes you a little scared, and sometimes when you’re half-asleep, your lungs seize up and you can feel his arm on your neck again. But he’s important to Seven, so… It’s a bit hard to connect the Saeran that is Seven’s twin brother and the Saeran who murmured gleefully in your ear about torturing you. That crazy man… Maybe if you don’t connect him in your head to the Saeran that Seven knows, you can avoid this twisted up feeling in your gut. 

\--

You talk a bit to Jumin and Jaehee, entirely about the party. You avoid any discussion of how you're feeling or how Seven is. Jumin and Jaehee, at least, you can trust to remain professional. Jumin is an expert at ignoring emotions, so he can probably recognize when you're doing it. 

But you're not _ignoring_... you're just... compartmentalizing. It's the only way you've ever learned to be able to function when your emotions are overwhelming you, which happened all the time when you were young. You used to be like a crazy person, when you were a kid... and when you were a teenager, you got involved with a lot of bad people that way. But having gotten yourself into and then out of a few really bad situations taught you how to disconnect when you needed to. 

You're getting really tired, though. You'd like to keep working on the desk, but you're worried you'll slip and set something off like this... so you slide it back against the wall to hide your progress and put the tools back where they were. If you lay down for a bit... maybe Seven will come back in. You'd like to hear his technobabble muttering again. 

\--

Seven comes in while you’re in bed. 

A good secret agent, you think, should be able to tell when someone's just pretending to be asleep. But then, it's something you've got down to an art. If you wanted to convince the world you were asleep, you could do it with a serial killer--or Saeran--in the room. And it's not like he peels open your eye to check. 

So you hear it... you hear everything. 

The sad confessions of a depressed, self-loathing secret agent. It isn't like it’s a surprise, really... Seven is, ironically, a bit transparent when it comes to you. But hearing it from his own lips is so damn sad... 

The worst part is, you and "Saeyoung" probably have more in common than Seven will ever believe--than you ever want Seven to believe, honestly. You want to roll right over in bed and look right at him and say, we're not different, you stupid jerk, I'm just a good liar and you're just too distracted to notice. But you don't. Because you're a good liar. And a good lie-er. Get it? Because you're lying in bed, pretending to be asleep? 

... Alright, maybe you _are_ more like 707 than Saeyoung... 

You're a good liar, and he's distracted. But you're not _that_ good, and he's not _that_ distracted. You can't fight off the tears--in your defense, it's been a very stressful couple of days--and Seven notices them. 

You can hear a sharp little intake of breath, and you want to panic, but you keep your breaths slow and even. Maybe you haven't been found out yet. Seven says nothing, but you hear movement... and then you feel a finger brushing under your eye. Years of practice keep you from jolting at the sudden touch. Your heart is beating so loud that you think he might be able to hear it... and not from fear of being caught. The back of his finger wipes away a tear. 

"I make you cry even in your sleep," he says, and Seven can tell you to forget him all he wants, but if you live to be one thousand years old, you will never be able to forget the pain in his voice. You want to lurch up and wrap your arms around him and scream that you love him and you don't care if he's dangerous and you don't care if you've only known him for a week. You want to beg him not to leave even if it risks his life. 

But instead, you stay perfectly still as your heart dies in your chest.

* * *

Seven’s fallout with Yoosung had been very, very hard to watch. You definitely know what Yoosung is going through right now… Seven had said pretty much all of the same things to you. But Yoosung had known Seven for years… it had to be so much worse for him right now. Seven’s sudden announcement about leaving the RFA had caught you a bit by surprise, but Yoosung had to have been utterly blindsided… 

You’d had a few days to adjust to Seven’s cruel episodes. You’d been able to see the conflict in his eyes, watch him struggle. You could understand what was happening inside his head. But Yoosung only had the words on the screen. And it was so easy to hide yourself behind words on a screen…

That was why you call him up as soon as Seven is out of earshot. 

He answers the phone still sobbing loudly. Your heart wrenches in your chest… _you_ haven’t even cried like that. Yoosung is a lot more in touch with his emotions than you are, haha, for all you’re more in touch with yours than Seven is. 

“Yoosung… Yoosung, I’m sorry, please don’t cry,” you beg. “Seven didn’t mean all of that! I know it! He’s just… in a really bad place right now…” 

“Re... really? If you say so, I guess, maybe… But I feel so hurt... I had no idea he’d say that to me...” Yoosung sniffles loudly. You wish you could reach through the phone and hold him… and his mom just left, too… You feel so bad. “... Was he just mad when he said it?” 

“Seven’s hurting a lot right now…” 

“Is he there?” 

“He’s outside the room…” 

“I’m... I’m shocked honestly... I thought we spent a lot of time together... Everyone else is so much older than me... He was a friend... I saw him at least once a week before school started.” Yoosung’s voice is shaky, and punctuated by shuddering breaths or little sobs. Each one is like a knife through your heart. It’s like listening to a puppy cry. “We were close enough to go to the arcade together. If we teamed up, no one could beat us. We were a legend in the neighborhood...! Haha… I said we should take over other neighborhoods and eventually the whole country. He laughed so hard... I can’t forget how sad his smile looked though... …Was he sad because he knew he’d leave one day?” 

“Maybe… I think Seven… was always very aware that he couldn’t be exactly like other people. I think the RFA was a safe place for him… so he got closer to you than other people… but he still… was scared he’d have to go one day.” 

“That’s so sad…” Yoosung says, then hiccups out another sob. 

“I’m sorry! Please don’t cry!” 

“I kept all my memories with him... but he didn’t seem to care at all about the time we spent together. I’ll never forget, but…!” 

“I know, Yoosung. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” 

“I’m close with everyone but I thought I was the closest to him... that’s what I thought. I really love Seven! I’m so sad that he doesn’t see that...!” 

“He does! I think he does… see that we love him. I think that kind of scares him… He doesn’t know what to do. So he says those things to push us away… because he thinks that will hurt us less than genuinely loving him.” 

“I don't understand complicated things like that. His life is so confusing. Can’t he just have an easy life?” Yoosung sobs. 

“I don’t know if he can, Yoosung,” you say miserably. “Things are complicated… with his brother, and the agency where he worked…” 

“Worked? Past tense?” 

“Er… I’m not sure if I’m supposed to talk about it… but I’m pretty sure Seven’s on the run from them too. Even if we solve the hacker problem… I think he plans to disappear to escape them.” 

“Th-that’s terrible! Isn’t there anything we can do to help?! Why won’t he trust us?? With Jumin’s money, surely… Something…” 

“I don’t know either, Yoosung, but… I’ll be with him, okay? If he runs, I’ll chase him. And if that agency tries to hurt him, I’ll stop them.” 

“C-can you say that? If it’s so dangerous?” 

“I might be being really naïve. But you know… I’m strong, Yoosung! For real! When that hacker was here, I threw him over my back!” 

“Wh-whoa… seriously? Have you had training? I thought you were an author?” 

“Seven years of hapkido,” you say with a laugh. “Now I wish I’d kept going with it… I might start again if I make it through this…” 

“I-if?!” 

“When! When. We’ll make it through… me and Seven both. I’ll do everything I can, Yoosung, I promise. So please don’t cry. Don’t be sad.” 

He snuffles loudly. “I’m sorry for crying when I’m on the phone with you. I guess I don’t seem very manly right now…” 

“Actually, I kind of admire you for being able to cry like that,” you say with a sigh, hugging your knees to your chest. “I think you’re more in touch with your emotions than Seven… or even me. That’s not something to be embarrassed by, okay?” 

“…You talk like you’re way older than me, but aren’t you just Seven’s age?” 

“I’m actually older than him,” you say with a laugh. “It doesn’t feel like it, does it? I guess he had to grow up really fast. Seriously, though, Yoosung… will you be okay? I feel bad…” 

“Well, it hurts, but you can’t be feeling any better… isn’t he treating you the same way right now? I saw him say he’d only talk to you in the chatroom...” 

“…Yeah… I’m not sure if it’s easier to deal with to my face or not. B-but don’t worry about me, okay? I’m tough!” 

“You seriously are… Ugh… I’m gonna go wash my face and pull myself together. Please... take good care of him... And… no, never mind. I’m going to hang up. Thank you so much for listening...”

* * *

The cat activates again when Seven comes in. You’d almost forgotten about it, but now it’s pattering around him, meowing. 

“Cheer up, meow~ You’re with the person you like, meow~” 

“Why is this thing on again…” Seven curses, glaring at it. 

“I turn on when I sense depression, meow! You’re with the person you like, meow!” the robot continues. 

“Er… Meowy… why not come away from there…” you say nervously. Seven is looking really, _really_ on edge. It’s why you’re keeping your distance… You’re maybe a little suicidal, but some lessons die hard. 

“Where’s the damn off switch on this thing!” Seven snaps, grabbing it off the ground. 

“You like, meow! You like, meow! You like, meow!” 

“Damn it! Shut up…!” Seven yells. He **chucks** the robot against the wall. Predictably, it smashes into pieces. You jump, but that’s the extent of the reaction you give. Your brain has already switched into crisis mode. Instead of screaming, you rush to the robot’s side, kneeling down. 

“It’s broken… Can I fix it…?” you mutter, beginning to gather up the pieces. You freeze when Seven’s shadow falls across you. 

“Just leave it. It’s useless. I’ll throw it away later.” 

“That sounds familiar. My emotions are useless too, right? You’re just going to throw them away later?” you ask bitterly. 

“…I’ll be leaving soon, so just forget about me.” 

You sigh to compose yourself. Being short with him won’t help. You keep gathering up the broken pieces of the cat. Something this complex, you can’t even miss a bolt. “I know you’re scared right now, but—“ 

“It’s none of your business how I feel,” Seven says shortly. “You wouldn’t have known, but this is how I’ve always felt. There was never a single day when I wasn’t depressed.” You pause in your collecting to look up at him. He’s glaring at you. “Can’t you see that it was all a lie?! The jokes, the pranks, all the laughs! Don’t think about me! Just think about protecting yourself!” 

You stand up, your arms full of broken robo-cat. “I can protect myself, you know. You don’t have to think I’m so fragile. I’m not just something to be shielded! I’m pretty strong! I keep telling you, but you won’t listen…” 

“You’re underestimating your opponents. You’ll really be in danger with that attitude.” 

“Right! As opposed to being danger while cowering scared in a corner!” you snap. “Stop treating me like I’m useless!” 

“Then stop acting like an optimistic idiot!” he fires right back. “You’re just like Yoosung! You don’t have a care in the world, regardless of what’s going on!” 

“ **I** don’t have a care in the world?!” you demand, your voice rising despite your attempts to stay calm. “Is that what you think I’m like? Stop mistaking my concern for stupidity! I just want to be with you! I like you! That doesn’t make me stupid!” 

“Doesn’t it?! How many times do I have to repeat myself? I can’t be with you! We can’t be anything together!” The two of you are in each other’s faces now. “Everything that surrounds me… They are all things that will disappear! Temporary things in the temporary life created by a secret agent named 707. My house, my cars, RFA, you, this place, **everything!** They’ll all disappear one day, like the morning fog.” He turns away from you, fists clenched by his side. “A real life, real things I can have… don’t ever think or hope those things could exist. Yoosung, you, all the members… even if you say that you like me... my life… my… my life can’t embrace anything. You don’t understand. You don’t know how it feels to live that kind of life.” 

His shoulders are shaking. 

“Don’t be nice to me when you don’t understand anything. Please… get away from me. Just… just leave me alone. The person you like is the 707 in the chatroom, not me!” 

“If that’s what you think, than let me understand the person in front of me!” you cry. “Stop turning away from me! Stop running!” Even as you say that, he takes a few steps away. Fuck this! Fuck this so hard! You drop the cat pieces to the ground, and charge him, wrapping your arms around his chest. Didn’t you promise Yoosung you’d chase him? 

“Yu…” He tries to pull away. You cling tighter. You dig your hands into his shirt. “Let go…” 

“I won’t! I’m not going to let go! You’ll have to cut my hands off! Do you understand me, Seven! You’ll have to cripple me to stop me from running after you!” 

“Why… why are you doing this to me…?” he chokes. “I told you… Even if you say that… I can’t… My life was wrong from the very start. It’s dangerous and full of lies…” 

“What kind of life do you think I’ve lived? Safe and honest!?” you sob into his back. “Stop treating me like a child! I know what I’m doing!” 

“I couldn’t even protect my one and only brother! And I have to abandon the person I like… My life is good for nothing. Just let me go… I don’t want to involve you in this kind of life… Why can’t you understand?” 

“My life hasn’t been like yours,” you admit. “But I’ve been through a lot. Even recently… coming here… I survived the bomb, and Saeran. I’m not afraid.” 

“Please tell me the truth. You were afraid, too. The hacker… the bomb… you were scared.” 

“…” You clench tighter around his chest. “…I was scared,” you admit. “But even though I was scared, I made the decision to stay. Can’t you understand? Even if I’m scared… I want to be with you. I’m so tired of running and hiding in my life… I just want to be brave and face this.” 

“I know you were scared… I was scared too. I was afraid that you would get hurt because of me…! My life is full of that fear. The fear that someone will be hurt or killed because of me. I don’t want you to get intertwined with me, because you’ll be in that much more danger… But why do you… Why do you like me?!” 

“I… I… I don’t know. I can’t explain it all right now! But I just like you! That’s how I feel! Before I came here, before I met you, I never felt anything at all! Every day was so dull and bleak! The whole world was dark and grey, like a night that never ended. B-but I came here! Even though I knew it would be dangerous! I came here, and I met you, and from that first stupid call, it was like the sun had risen in my life! I finally felt warmth and light again! And I can’t go back to the dark! I never want to go back to the dark, so stop trying to run away from me!” 

“…You’re impossible, Yu… You really felt like that? You’re so strange… I feel… I feel like I’m going strange too. Why won’t you just give up? I know I’m hurting you, so why won’t you just leave? What are you going to do if something happens to you because of me?!” 

“I’m okay with that.” You think you’re probably soaking the back of his hoodie with tears and snot at this point. “I’m okay with it! I don’t regret my feelings towards you! Even if you’re not exactly like you acted… who is? Am I exactly like I was in the messenger? No one can just be happy all the time… But I like you. I like this guy right here!” 

Seven is quiet for a long time. Then… “I don’t know anymore… Do what you want.” You clutch tighter around him, afraid he’ll try to pull you off. “No matter how much I push you away, or hurt you, I can’t do anything about your feelings. Nothing good will come from being close to me… It’ll be too late to regret it later when something happens.” 

“I’ll never regret it. I will never regret being with you, no matter what happens. I’m happy… I’m so happy just to be near you.” 

“…You shouldn’t say that so easily.” 

“Believe me,” you choke into his back. “You have not made it easy.” 

He makes a little noise that might be a laugh or a sob. “Damn… Damnit! Why are you like this?! Why are you putting me in this kind of situation?” Because you’re an inherently selfish person, probably, but you’re tired of feeling guilty for that. You’re so tired of feeling guilty for everything. Just this once… Just this one thing, you want to be selfish about. You want to be the most selfish person in the world. 

“I told myself I would never want to be close to anyone… But you make me feel so complicated!” Seven curses. “I can’t believe this… God… What am I supposed to do now!?” 

“First, take some time. Please… don’t run. Just think about what I said. I meant it all so… please just think about accepting me. Please…” 

The silence stretches out. It feels like an eternity. 

“…Alright. I need time.” 

“Then I’ll wait. I’ll wait as long as you need, just don’t run or hide from me. Please… I never want to go back to the way things were.”

* * *

You fiddle senselessly with the pieces of the cat robot. 

You shouldn't. It'll probably just make it harder for Seven to repair later... if he repairs it. You hope he does... poor thing. You'd been certain he'd kick it even before he wound up tossing it, but the sudden violence had still startled you. Not _surprised_ you, just... startled you. 

Fortunately, you're well versed at keeping your calm in situations like that. 

“Never thought a history of shitty boyfriends would prepare me for life with a secret agent,” you mutter to yourself, half sarcasm and half bitterness. It's hard not to be bitter when you think about the past. That's why you don't, as a general rule, do that. 

Seven's in the shower... clearing his head, or trying to, probably. He's got to be all twisted up inside... you feel terrible, thinking about it. You're still so genuinely uncertain that what you're doing is the right thing. 

"Why are you doing this?" he'd asked. 

You hadn’t been able to say it, but the answer was that you were just as selfish as he was. No, more so. Way more so. You're insisting on your feelings even though it'll put both of you in danger, right? It doesn't get much more selfish than that... But this time, you want to just be allowed to be selfish. Just this once… 

You’ve always put personal safety pretty low in your list of priorities, particularly when it comes to relationships. It's not like you'd agreed to come to a random apartment at the behest of a stranger because you make ~super great life decisions~ and were in ~such a great place, mentally.~ 

Well, you're here now. In an apartment with a bomb in it, sitting about five meters from where a lunatic had tried to kidnap you, waiting for a depressed, terrified secret agent (or maybe ex-secret agent at this point) to finish showering so that you can try and convince him to eat. 

It’s not like there’s no food here for him to eat... He'd gotten a frankly obscene amount of sushi delivered. When had you mentioned sushi was your favorite, anyway? Probably during what you're now thinking of as the early honeymoon period, where everything had been sunshine and rainbows and cats dancing in space. The space station period... You'd probably mentioned getting sushi. You hadn't really intended it, but Jumin figured out how poor you are pretty early... Your primary source of income is internet donations and your secondary source of income is hope and prayers. That money he'd given you... you have to wonder if he really understands just how much that is to a normal person, haha... After he gave you that, you'd eaten like a king for approximately five days before everything suddenly and dramatically turned to shit. Sometime then, you'd probably made some stupid sushi jokes with Seven, and he'd stored that little tidbit of information away. The way he does. 

It looks and smells delicious, and letting it sit is killing you, particularly when your stomach keeps loudly, angrily complaining about the state of things. But it's been over a day since you last saw Seven eat something, so you're officially on a hunger strike. Besides, no way you could eat all that sushi yourself. Well... not in one sitting anyway. 

The water in the bathroom shuts off. You continue pointedly not thinking about what's happening on the other side of that door, which has been working for you so far. Every time your mind starts drifting towards water, steam, and broad shoulders, you just start thinking very loudly about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You haven't been religious for years, but certain old habits die very hard, and Catholic guilt is one of the oldest. 

If the stern, disapproving face of first century middle eastern Jewish man doesn't work, you think very firmly of your mother and how much she would disapprove of... literally everything about your life and this entire situation. Mind, she hasn't approved of anything you've done in years. Adding James Bond, a bomb, and a squad of technically-strangers you've become unreasonably attached to definitely isn't going to change her mind any. Jumin had once made a side-comment about contacting your parents “if he could.” There’s a lot of reasons you’d like to kiss Seven, but keeping your parents’ contact info away from Jumin Han is up there. 

When even that fails you, you just sit on the bed, staring into space and thinking about word puns based on every descriptive adjective your brain puts forth. 

Seven makes a noise that's probably a perfectly normal sigh, yet burns through your skull as if he'd let out an erotic moan. Your hands tighten spasmodically. 

The cat head makes a dying, metallic sort of nyaaaaaa~ sound. 

"I feel you, buddy," you mutter. "I feel you."

\--

Seven does, eventually, come out of the bathroom. He has the good sense to dress first… you’re relieved and disappointed at the same time. You’d been pretty occupied by imagining him in nothing but a towel and then working very hard to imagine literally anything else. 

“You’re not in the kitchen? Have you already eaten?” Seven asks. He’s still drying his hair with a towel. His hair is a bit curly, so it’s probably hard to dry… Yours is thicker than it looks, so you can relate. It takes _forever_ to dry, which is why you tend to just blow dry it. 

“Nope,” you reply, not even trying not to stare at him from where you’re flopped on the bed. 

“…You have to eat, you know.” 

You roll over wordlessly. Seven flushes slightly and looks away. Oh-ho-ho… is he thinking sinful things just because you’re on a bed? How did he make it this long? 

“…Seriously, why are you like this? Is there something wrong with the sushi…?” He wanders into the kitchen. You watch him wordlessly. Once he’s out of sight in the kitchen, you creep quietly off the bed to an angle of the apartment where you can see where he’s standing in the kitchen, next to the table. Then you sit down. “It’s fine, so—“ Seven turns around and jumps. “God! You’re like that cat that moves every time you turn the camera!” 

You don’t say anything, just watch him. 

“Are you playing a game? Just come here and eat! Why didn’t you eat before…? Are you not going to eat if I leave you alone? Even cats will eat on their own, you know.” 

You tilt your head, then meow. 

“Stop joking around and come sit at the table. How do you always find a way to turn things into a game…? …Why are you smiling at me like that…?” Seven asks warily. “And I’ve been wanting to tell you. Stop staring at me.” 

“I’ll go blind first,” you say abruptly, and he seems startled, though you’re not sure whether he’s startled by your words or the fact you suddenly spoke. 

“Are you done now? Come over here and eat.” 

“Why is there only one pair of chopsticks?” 

“Because you’re the only one who’s going to eat,” he replies promptly. You scowl. He didn’t even try to hide it! He just said it so plainly. 

“I’m on a hunger strike.” 

“…You’re on a **what**?” 

“A hunger strike. Until you eat.” 

Seven gives you a very long, tired look. You hold his gaze right back. Cats don’t lose staring contests. 

“...Stop being so stubborn. I can just eat whatever later. Come over here,” Seven insists. 

“Nope. I told you. Hunger strike. I won’t eat if you won’t.” 

“And all this delicious sushi will go to waste? I got a lot of eel in here… it’s your favorite, right?” 

Your stomach growls loudly. You swallow. “Y-yep.” 

“We’ll have to put it in the fridge. The rice will get all hard and everything.” 

Oooooh this little shit. “I’m not gonna eat unless you do!” 

Seven lets out a long sigh. “Fine, fine! It’ll be faster at this point… But there’s only one pair of chopsticks. We’ll have to share… Uuuhm…” You can practically see the gears turning and getting jammed as he tries to figure out the logistics and gets distracted repeatedly. You can relate. 

“You can hold them,” you declare. “You can eat and feed me.” 

“Fine.” You blink in wide eyed shock. You had been teasing. “Why do you look so surprised? I said fine. I need to put food in your mouth so come here.” 

Oh God why did he have to say it like that. You can feel your face heating up. 

“You want to put something in my mouth…? Oh my God! I should run away now, right?” you exclaim. “Zen said to call him!” 

Seven lets out a frustrated groan that doesn’t help you at all. “…I swear, you’re always… This isn't the time for jokes! God... Just stay there.” He sets down the chopsticks on the table. “I’m going to catch you.” 

“Eek!” you exclaim, scrambling onto your hands and knees. Before you’re even halfway across the room, you feel Seven’s arms wrap around your waist. He straightens, _PICKING YOU UP_ , and you shriek again, though you’re grinning ear to ear. 

“So this is how hard it is to eat...” he grumbles. “Will you behave now? I’ll feed you AND eat. You’ve gotten everything you wanted, so come eat.” 

“This isn’t quite everything I want, but I’ll admit it’s pretty close,” you reply, laying your head back on his shoulder. “You’re really strong.” 

“I had to do physical training with the agency. It was annoying, but if you like it, I guess it serves a purpose.” 

“I bet you could carry me princess style!” 

“If I carry you to the table, will you eat?” 

“No, save that for when you’re carrying me to the bed!” 

“I’m going to drop you now.”

* * *

Both you and Seven end lunch with full stomachs, and faces that are varying shades of red. Both of you talk a much stronger game than you’re capable of dealing with. But after you got into the swing of things, you started playing around with it. Seven “accidentally” hit you on the nose and face with sushi more than once. He had you close your eyes and he’d put a random piece in and you’d guess what it was. He was impressed by your sushi knowledge, haha… It’s your favorite food, so you eat it a lot. And he’s not the only one to score points. You’re pretty sure you struck a critical hit by sticking your tongue out a bit with your mouth open while waiting for a bite. You hope Seven was thinking all _kinds_ of things… 

You’re not super great at the whole “giving him time” thing, huh… But Seven seems to enjoy the company and your teasing anyway. You can tell when his mind turns to serious things because of the expression he gets. You give him some space when that happens… and then go in to distract him if it lasts to long or he starts looking too anxious. 

He seems alright working now, so you decide to get some work done too. You want to know what he’s doing, but you know things are dangerous right now and he works better when he can fully focus. So instead, you work on stuff for the party with Jaehee. It’s funny, but come to think of it, Jaehee’s probably the person you’ve spoken to the most other than Seven, the last week and a half. Pretty much always about work, but that’s kind of nice too. 

You’re communicating with the “God of Genesis” now, which is a trip. Shame you probably won’t be at the party to meet him. Or Gordon Ramsay… Sob… It can’t be helped, though. It’s pretty clear that you and Seven will be pretty busy around the time of the party. Two days isn’t long enough to deal with Saeran, the Mint Eye, the agency... everything. And that’s if everything goes perfectly... 

“You absolutely have to get me Ramsay’s signature, okay? Or his number. Make sure his food is **absolutely perfect** , okay? **V** VIP,” you’re telling Jaehee, phone wedged between your ear and shoulder as you work. “I want him to want to come back for the next one. Uuuugh, I’m so mad I won’t be able to meet him. I was seriously looking forward to it. Oh, I’ve heard he’s fond of trying local food so make sure the beef and seaweed stew is the best in Korea, okay? He’ll honestly probably try a bit of everything there… Urgh… Well, just do your best.” 

“Are you really okay working on the party right now…? How’s Seven doing?” Jaehee asks nervously. Oh, right… he hasn’t been in the chatroom since yelling at Yoosung… 

“…He’s working through a lot of stuff right now. He’s working on his computer again, so I’m focusing on my own work so I don’t distract him.” 

“I’m seriously amazed by your focus… No wonder Mr. Han wants to hire you.” 

You perk up immediately. “Really? Did he say that? Did he mention a position? A starting salary?” 

“…You’re a bit too excited. I would advise against working for Mr. Han. You see how much I have to work, right…?” 

“I actually like that sort of thing,” you admit. “I’m happier when I’m busy. And I enjoy secretarial work, to be honest… Keeping things organized. It’s what I do when I’m stressed.” 

“…If Mr. Han hears that, he’ll definitely hire you.” 

“So please tell him.” 

“I’m sorry, I will not. You’ll have to get back fine and tell him yourself.” 

That makes you laugh. “Are you trying to be sly, Jaehee? It’s cute. God… I feel like we’ve talked a lot, but not really about ourselves, you know? I hope after this party is over we can call and talk about more relaxed things.” 

“If you get a job here, we’ll be talking about business 24/7.” 

“Well, that’s not bad either. At least I’ll still get to hear your voice... Oh, but I guess if he becomes my boss, I’ll have to start calling Jumin ‘Mr. Han’ too, huh… That’s weird. Oh well…” 

“I’m amazed you’re so calm at a time like this. Please tell me your secrets later, about how you manage to control yourself and select the party guests.” 

“Well, selecting the party guests is harder than controlling myself. I’m hoping the party turns out okay. I invited some weird people this time, hahaha…” 

“This is a bit different, but… I see fairly unique people during meetings, so if it’s okay, please tell me how you keep Luciel under control. I think there won’t be anything to fear in this world if I master that.” 

Your eyes trace over Seven. “I don’t really think that’s going to be applicable to your situation, Jaehee.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, you know, things a man and woman do alone in an apartment…” you say slyly. Seven tenses and his hands spasm against the keyboard awkwardly. “Typo!” you call out to him, and he glares over at you. 

“…Oh... It took me three seconds to understand what you meant. I didn’t realize that was the situation... But as long as you both are safe, it’s none of my business what you two do together.” 

“I was mostly joking, Jaehee.” 

“Ah. Well, even if that’s the case, I’m glad. I knew you two had feelings for each other.” It’s your turn to blush now. 

“W-well, yeah, I guess, haha… To be honest, I think now I could even write a paper on Seven. I don’t think that would help you deal with difficult clients, though.” 

“You’re an author, though, correct? I bet that would be an interesting read. Please include how I can avoid Luciel’s pranks.” 

Oh, she trusts you **way** too much, hahaha… but you can’t pass that up. “Definitely,” you agree somberly. 

“It seems odd that I’ve never asked, but we’ve been so busy. What sort of things do you write?” 

“Uh… Oh, you know, fantasy stuff. I write under a pseudonym, so…” 

“I don’t read much like that, but if it’s yours, I’d like to see it… Oh. Mr. Han is paging me. I have to go. Please be safe, and please take care of Luciel.” 

“Bye, Jaehee! Thanks for all your hard work.” 

You hang up with a sigh. She’s a nice lady… you hope you can be closer after all of this is done. 

“So,” Seven says. “The things a man and woman do alone in an apartment, huh?”

* * *

You get a shower of your own in… you desperately need one, and you’re pretty sure that it could be a while before your next one. You haven’t said anything to Seven, but you’re kind of expecting a sudden and dramatic life on the run. It’s one thing to take care of Saeran, but for the two—or three—of you to live safely away from that intelligence agency… You might even have to leave the country, right? At the very least, won’t you need secret identities? Seven said the RFA was secret from the agency, but… you have a really distinct last name, thanks to your mom. Wouldn’t you be really easy to track? 

You don’t even really enjoy your shower… thoughts like that are all in your head. You spend a good amount of time in the bathroom even after you’re out of the shower. You don’t want to put your hair up in a towel, so you blow dry it, then you have to do your makeup and get dressed… It’s a bit stressful living with someone. Normally you would have just wandered around naked with your hair in a towel until you were dry, hahaha… 

Instead, you emerge from the bathroom completely dry and completely dressed, save for your stockings, which you would never risk getting wet. Wet socks are horrible. And you find Seven on the floor, fiddling with the broken pieces of the cat robot, talking to himself. You almost don’t want to interrupt him... the way talks to himself is soooo cute. 

“Where did I put the blueprint… The nut here… should fit bolt 42…” he mutters. You slide onto the floor behind him, resting a head on his shoulder and draping your arms around him. He stiffens suddenly, then relaxes. “You move quietly when you want to,” he notes. 

“Mmhmm,” you hum absent-mindedly. You’re too busy burying your nose against his collar. Smells good… 

Urgh… No, you can’t get distracted with that kind of thing. You just got _out_ of the shower. “What are you working on?” you ask, to distract the both of you. 

“I’m fixing what I broke earlier,” he says with a sigh. “You must have been pretty startled.” You don’t have anything you can say that wouldn’t be a lie or too much information, so you stay quiet. “Come to think of it, if something happens and I disappear… at least it could talk to you…” 

“Don’t talk like that. Nothing’s going to happen. You’re not going to disappear. Even if the sun goes behind the clouds, it always comes back, right? You’ll always come back, like that.” 

Seven chuckles. “You know I’ll try. But this is dangerous, so…” 

“Don’t worry,” you say, smiling. “I’ll protect you.” And he laughs, and everything is good again. 

“The AI program I installed here is similar to how I talk in the chatroom. It’s so good at everything that you might like it better than me.” 

“No way. I want robot 707 to make me smile, way more than a cat. Which button do I need to push…” 

“Pfff. You’re not going to find any buttons on my body.” 

“Are you sure…?” you ask, pulling your arms away from over his shoulders and running curious hands down his sides. “I bet there’s a button that will make me smile somewhere here…” 

“Ggaaaah! Wh-where are you putting your hands?! H-hey! A... A robot cat can give you better responses if you poke it.” 

“Better than this? I doubt it.” You grin against his shoulder, and slide your hands into the very bottom of his shirt. “Ah! I’ve made it past the first layer of security!” 

“Wh-whoa! Wandering hands!” Seven exclaims, dropping the pieces of the cat robot to grab your wrists. “You’re not very self-aware, are you?! If you do that, I—“ 

“Are you ticklish?” you tease. 

“I’m not! Just—“ 

“How about here?” you ask, then blow air directly against his ear. He makes a strangled noise and dives forward away from you. You let him go, and laugh as he rubs his ear furiously, blushing bright red. 

“Aish! Is that what you meant when you said you had a dangerous life before?! You sure seem to like to live dangerously, doing stuff like that!” 

You snort. “That’s me… life on the edge.” 

Seven pauses, then straightens a bit. “Since we’re talking about it… you don’t say those things to other people, do you…? You might not know, but there are a lot of dangerous men in this world.” 

“Aheh… Um…” 

“I’m serious. If you’re too nice, you might end up facing a lot of trouble.” 

“…It’s okay. I’m familiar with dangerous people.” 

“…You’re aware I’m dangerous, right? You should really be careful about saying things like that!” 

You sigh. “It’s not that, Seven. I really like you, that’s why I said that to you. But…” You glance down. “Ah, never mind. It’s enough that I don’t say that to other people, right?” 

“Are you alright…? If there’s something you want to say, please be comfortable and say it. I don’t want you to feel like there’s stuff you can’t say to me.” 

You shift uncomfortably. “Nah, it’s… Not like that. Just… don’t think I’m super naïve just because I’m bubbly, okay?” 

“Ha… Yeah, I guess I shouldn’t underestimate you,” Seven says with a chuckle. “You snuck all that hardware in here right under my nose. And that drill was in a trash bag… you were trying to throw it out, right? And you’d hidden the rest in—“ 

“My underwear drawer, where I knew you wouldn’t look,” you say dryly. “Yep. Oh. And I was working on breaking into the desk again last night when you left me in here.” 

“Y… **WHAT?!** ” 

“Don’t leave a woman alone with power tools unless you want something to happen, Seven.” 

“Are you serious?! Do you have a death wish?” 

“I was careful. And you disconnected it from the bomb, remember?” 

“Augh! You’re seriously stressful!” 

“My point is… You don’t have to keep underestimating me, or treating me like a kid, or thinking I won’t understand. If you want to talk about complicated algorithms or dangerous people or, or the amount of energy generated by dancing with cats in space… Please just say those things to me with the assumption I’ll understand. If I don’t, I’ll ask you about them when there’s time.” 

“…Alright. Then why don’t you sit next to me, and we’ll fix Meowy together?” 

“…I don’t want to ruin the moment, but I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that name…”

* * *

Now that you and Seven are the same page, there’s one thing that he’s been putting off all afternoon… that has to be done. It takes a bit of coaxing. He has to get himself together. He’s just barely managing to sort out his emotions on the subject of you… you don’t want to rush him, but this important. There’s someone being left out of the loop here. 

Yoosung. 

He decides to just log on and leave a message. You agree… then text Yoosung immediately to get on the messenger asap. 

…What? 

Everyone should have figured out you’re sneaky by now! 

Of course, he explodes in at a very dramatic moment. He yells at Seven some, which is fair. You’d yelled at Seven too, if you think about it. You’d also, uh… grappled him. If Yoosung wants to do that too, later, you’re okay with it. It’s only fair… Yoosung is the other hurt wife in this situation, isn’t he? He should have the same opportunities as you. 

Yu: “Seven! Sincerely apologize to Yoosung!”   
707: “Okay!”   
707: “I’m sorry, Yoosung!”   
707: “I just got too emotional…”   
707: “and said things to hurt you…”   
Yu: “He does that”  
Yu: “>_>”  
707: “^^;”   
Yoosung★: “So we’re not cutting ties?”   
707: “I’ll try…”   
707: “to make sure it doesn’t happen…”   
Yu: “It won’t happen!”   
Yoosung★: “IT WON’T HAPPEN!”   
707: “that was at the same time;;”   
Yoosung★: “I don’t know what complicated things are happening to you,”   
Yoosung★: “but we’ve known each other for years.”   
Yoosung★: “You can’t just say good bye”   
Yoosung★: “without giving us a chance to understand!”   
Yoosung★: “That’s not a human thing to do!!”   
707: “Nope, it’s not.”   
Yoosung★: EXACTLY!!!”   
Yu: “Yup. Yoosung’s completely right.”   
707: “Two lectures… I deserve this.”   
  
Yu: “You do.”   
Yoosung★: “Fyi, a person grows”   
Yoosung★: “with trust and love!”   
Yoosung★: “When deceit and doubt fills you up,”   
Yoosung★: “you cleanse your mind through creative activities such as making organic soap”  
Yoosung★: “and escape your deep solitude by devoting yourself to society.”   
Yoosung★: “wait”  
Yoosung★: “wait a minute”  
Yoosung★: “ **this is one of my mom’s lectures;;** ”   
Yu: “omg”   
Yu: “mom-sung~”  
  
707: “You wanted to make soap with me!!”   
Yoosung★: “No, that’s not it;;”  
Yu: “Yoosung”  
Yoosung★: “?”   
Yu: “I’m next to him so”   
Yu: “If you want me to **punish him for what he’s done** ”   
Yu: “I’ll give you one for free”  
707: “wait”   
707: “what”  
Yoosung★: Wow, Yu sounds serious”  
Yu: “+_+”   
Yu: “deadly serious”  
Yu: “If you were here, you could do it yourself”  
Yu: “but since you’re not”  
Yu: “I’ll dispense justice!”   
707: “Isn’t that normally my line?;;”  
Yoosung★: “Hmmmmm”  
  
707: “He’s really considering it!;;”   
Yu: “Good!”   
Yu: “Don’t try to run, Seven”  
Yu: “You’ll make the punishment worse”  
Yoosung★: “If you say it that way”  
Yoosung★: “I feel like he might enjoy it…;;”  
Yoosung★: “Hmm……”  
Yoosung★: “I’ll…”   
Yoosung★: “ **forgive you** ”   
707: “Phew”  
707: “Thank you.”   
Yu: “We should do a campaign on ‘thinking before talking.’”   
Yoosung★: “I’ll join!”   
707: “ **I will not join!** ”   
  
Yu: “ **He’ll join.** ” 

It feels much better now that Seven and Yoosung have made up. Although you give him a “punishment” for Yoosung anyway, in the form of a surprise tackle as he’s coming out of the kitchen. You shout a few things about “Yu, Defender of Justice!” while the two of you wrestle. Seven winds up on top again, pinning you, but that’s hardly a loss in your book. Seven on top of you is a sight you could really happily get used to… and he doesn’t look like he hates it, either. 

Unfortunately, anything that would have made Zen cry gets interrupted by your phone going off. Seven practically springs off of you. 

“Hello, blocker Yoosung,” you say as you answer the call. 

“…Blocker? I’ve never played sports… Er, no, that doesn’t matter. Is Seven okay…? I’m sure you’re a huge reason why he said sorry… and you comforted me earlier, too. Seven must have had such a hard time on his own… I feel so bad seeing him say sorry.” 

“You’re the one he was apologizing too, so you probably shouldn’t feel sad seeing it,” you say dryly. “Although I felt the same way…” 

“I was thinking about it, and I think Seven was as honest as he could be when talking with us. I guess he couldn’t tell us some things to protect us. I really realized that today… It must have been so hard for him, not being able to say anything even when things were bad. I should have supported him more…” 

“I’m sure your support really helped him in those times, Yoosung, so don’t feel bad,” you say, flopping down onto the bed. 

“I think your support helps more,” Yoosung says teasingly. “I’m so glad he’s with you. I think it’s all because of you that he’s opened up.” 

“I don’t know about that, haha… Just continue to be there for him.” 

“Of course! You will too, right? If so, I think he’ll always be a warm person.” 

“Yep! You noticed it too, right? He’s bright and warm, like the sun. Sometimes I feel like we must be moths attracted to the brightest thing, haha…” 

“Whoa~ That’s pretty romantic, Yu. I’m kind of jealous of him now… to have someone like you beside him.” 

You flush slightly. “Haha, I’m the lucky one, so be jealous of me~ Or maybe I should be jealous of all the fun times you two have had? I want to go to the arcade with you guys too next time!” 

“We’ll go once everything gets solved and the RFA is safe again! With the three of us, we really will take over the whole country!” Yoosung promises. “Anyways, I just called to say thanks. I hope everything works out with Seven. I mean it.” 

“You don’t need to be jealous, Yoosung. I’m sure you’ll meet someone soon.” 

“Haha, hearing you say that gives me a tiny bit of hope! I want to receive a lot of positive energy and study hard and maybe even go on dates!” Sooooo cute, gosh. You bet he’d wear a bow tie on a date. “I hope it’s someone who plays LOLOL…” 

“Seven plays LOLOL,” you say slyly. “Too bad I snatched him up first~” 

“I’m not saying that’s all I care about!” Yoosung protests. “It’d just be nice if we have the same hobby… Aaah, imagining it is making me all tingly.” 

“You’ll definitely find someone perfect and super cute, Yoosung. And then I’ll get to be jealous~ I have to go eat now, but I’ll let you know as soon as something happens, okay?” 

“Okay! You two stay safe.” 

You hang up with a sigh. 

“…You know he had the biggest crush on you—“ Seven begins. 

“Shush.” 

“Seriously it was—“ 

“Sssssssshhhhh.”

* * *

This is the happiest you’ve felt in the chatroom for a while. It’s nice to see Zen and Jumin bicker again. It’s like coming home. 

Zen: “Dude,”   
Zen: “Jumin,”   
Jumin: “Ya?”   
Zen: “I’m warning you now,”   
Zen: “but don’t tell Seven what to do this time.”   
Jumin: “Why do you think I would say such a thing?”   
Yu: “Because of the ‘advice’ you gave Seven earlier”  
Zen: “You blabbed on about useless things”  
Zen: “that he should kill emotions or whatnot…”   
Jumin: “That was useful advice.”   
Yu: “Jumin ^^”  
Yu: “You know I have a lot of respect for you”  
Yu: “as a businessman and a person”  
Jumin: “ **Naturally** ”  
Jumin: “but thank you”  
  
Yu: “but if you ever try to give Seven emotional advice again”  
Yu: “ **there will not be enough bodyguards in all of Korea to protect you from me ^^** ”   
Jumin: “…”  
  
Yu: “:) That’s all I wanted to say”  
Zen: “I felt a chill…”  
Jumin: “ **That’s just your air conditioning.** ”   
Zen: “Haven’t you heard what they say about women scorned?”   
Zen: “You should be careful.”   
Jumin: “My security is nothing to scoff at.”   
Yu: “That hacker that’s given Seven so much difficulty…”  
Yu: “ **I flipped him over my back.** ”  
  
Jumin: “…”  
Jumin: “I see you’re a good match for Luciel in several ways”  
Yu: “Thank you for recognizing it ^^”  
Jumin: “In any case”  
Jumin: “I respect Luciel’s decision this time.”   
Jumin: “You must stand up for yourself in order to answer just questions.”   
Jumin: “Especially if it concerns someone you trust.”   
Jumin: “The truth will always solve misunderstandings.”   
Zen: “Yeah;;”  
Zen: “Well…”   
Zen: “Then I’m glad.”   
Zen: “They should solve their misunderstandings…”  
Jumin: “Yeah.”   
Zen: “lololol Seriously”  
Zen: “I never thought”  
Zen: “~I’d be so happy to see Seven’s hiya hey hey lololol~”  
Jumin: “Hiya hey hey”  
Zen: “…”  
Yu: “oh wow lololol”  
Zen: “I’m going crazy.”   
Jumin: “You must be happy.”   
Zen: “You……”  
Zen: “You’re………”  
Zen: “God seriously...”  
  
Jumin: “ **Zen, it’s very hard to satisfy you.** ”   
Zen: “Whoa… Don’t say things like that.”   
Yu: “+_+”  
Yu: “I’m feeling inspired.”   
Yu: “Maybe I can write again…”  
Zen: “…Why does that inspire you?”   
Jumin: “Perhaps she’s writing something based on me?”   
Zen: “I hate to think what that line could have inspired.”   
Zen: “…”  
Zen: “Yu”  
Yu: “Ya?”   
Zen: “What kind of books to you write?”   
Yu: “fantasy novels”  
Zen: “ **what kind of fantasies?** ”   
Yu: “oh, Seven’s saying something”  
Yu: “gotta go!”   
\--Yu has left the chatroom--

\--

“You have to let me help.” 

“Under the circumstances, I can’t help but think that’s a bad idea,” Seven says from under the desk. 

“This is my white whale, Seven. I’ve been trying to crack into this desk for like half a week.” 

“Didn’t you promise you wouldn’t open anything when you agreed to stay here?! How long were you trying to break into this thing?” 

“Hey, I turned out to be one hundred percent right, and it’s _my_ screwdriver you’re using.” 

“Right, the screwdriver you snuck into the apartment in clothing bags so you could break into the top secret desk of the apartment you broke into at a stranger’s behest. That’s a great reason for me to trust you with this, good point.” 

“I’ll sit on you,” you threaten. 

“Don’t!” Seven exclaims. “And don’t stand there! Seriously, you’re wearing a skirt! Don’t you have any self-awareness?!” 

“Agent Seven Zero Seven, are you looking up my skirt?!” you gasp. “A pervert! I’m here with a pervert! Oh no~ I have to tell Zen! What did he tell me to say… Right! ‘Hey, buddy! I’m a nice woman, so don’t treat me like that!’ And then he said to hit you with something if I needed to… Let me unplug the lamp...” 

“I’m glad Zen has such faith in me,” Seven says dryly. “Did he seriously tell you to hit me with something?” 

You laugh. “Yeah. He’s sweet, the way he worries. I feel like Zen has a very honest understanding of men… It makes him fun to tease, though…” You squat down next to Seven and the desk. “Seriously though, is there anything I can do to help?” 

“You could put on some more clothes…” he mutters. 

“What was that?” you say airily. “You need some of my clothes? Well, okay…” You stand up. 

“No! You know that’s not what I said, so stop playing around!” 

“Just what’s lying around? Let’s see…” You open one of your drawers. “Do you have a preference for panties or stockings?” You hear a thud as Seven sits up abruptly while still under the desk. 

“Don’t even think about it! I got this thing unattached, so we can open the drawer now.” 

You toss the panties you’d been holding onto the floor. “You have to let me! I have lockpicks… no, wait, we can leave evidence… can I break the lock?!” 

“You’re a bit too excited…” 

“I’ve been wanting to smash that thing open! I have a hammer, so just let me!” 

“It’s dangerous…” 

“Not as dangerous as I’ll be if you start treating me like I’m made of glass again!” 

“Alright! Alright! Just be careful, okay?” 

There are no words to describe how satisfying it is to pick up a hammer and smash the locked handle off of the drawer to Rika’s desk. 

There are also no words to describe what you find inside. 

…Papers… 

Stacks and stacks of papers… With the Mint Eye logo on them… slogans, fliers, what look like blueprints. 

…Well fuck. 

You and Seven share a long, shocked look. 

“…I call not it for telling Yoosung,” you say weakly.

* * *

Telling everyone what you found is very unpleasant. You’re pretty sure you’ll be working double duty keeping everyone from completely freaking out. Poor Yoosung… but everyone’s shocked, really. It only makes sense that you take the position of comforting them, since you’re the least affected by the revelation. Of course, you’re also the one with the least delusions about the situation. They knew Rika better, but… You saw how much their friendship with V led to blindness. 

You’ll be the one to comfort them, but you’ll also be the one to stay aware of the realities of the situation. 

The combination of those things has you feeling a bit drained. Has it seriously only been a day? It feels like it’s been a week since your big emotional blow-up with Seven… You kind of want to sleep for a year, but there’s no time to sleep for even a minute. If you’re not working with Seven, you’re working on the party, or talking to someone on your phone to try and calm them down about Rika. 

You can’t sleep, but you decide to give yourself a bit of a break and harass Seven. He needs to take a break too… This is a good way to kill two birds with one stone. 

Seven answers his phone pretty much as soon as it starts ringing. 

“Hello… hahahahaha.” You’re a bit surprised that he just starts laughing, but it’s such a good sound. You want to hear that every day, all the time. 

“Why are you laughing all of the sudden?” you ask with a grin. 

“I noticed you glancing at me while pressing on the phone, so I wondered if you were trying to call me. And you really did. Why are you so cute? I even love how predictable you are.” 

Augh! Found out! You’re predictable already! You spring to your feet and sprint into the kitchen. 

“What are you doing? Why are you suddenly running into the kitchen? I can’t see you!” 

“I’m not in the kitchen!” you lie obviously. This is a studio apartment, haha, it’s not like there are really ways to hide, but you crawl under the table anyway. “Let’s play hide and seek! Try to find me~” 

“Hide and seek while we’re on the phone? How many places do you think there are to hide? Should I have closed my eyes?” he asks with a laugh. 

“Close your eyes now and count to ten!” you instruct him. With the additional time, you can… uh… not move at all, because the only other places to hide in the kitchen are in the cabinets. 

“3… 2… 1. Alright... hmm... your voice isn't echoing so you're not in the bathroom...” You hear Seven moving around the apartment. It’s tiny, so he’ll probably find you pretty quickly, but you still find your heartbeat picking up in excitement anyway. “But you do know that I attached a GPS device on your clothes, right…?” 

“It’s cheating if you use that,” you whisper furiously. 

“I don’t think I need GPS to find you… Do I get a present if I win? I should have made a bet where I get a wish if I win.” 

Your heart skips a beat. “Wh-what would you wish for?” 

“Hmm… I can think of a few things.” Oooooh my God. Ooooh my GOD. Jesus! Take the wheel! “Hahaha… I can’t even see your face, but I think I can imagine your expression.” He chuckles. “It's good to laugh. If we can manage to laugh in this situation, what other miracle can we hope for? 

“Absolutely. They call this a trial by fire, right?” you say with a giggle. “It’s funny, but I don’t really mind… I mean, I do wish all this stuff weren’t happening to you, but… I got to be with you, so I’m also kind of happy. I’m so glad I downloaded that stupid app. Even if Saeran had bad intentions…” Er… Really bad intentions… “If everything turns out okay, I’ll have to thank him.” 

“Heh… Yeah. I think this is what suits us. No matter what happens, we look at each other and laugh. Promise me. From now on... we'll just look at each other, smile, and get through whatever comes.” 

“If I can make you laugh, I think I’ll definitely be happy every day~ And if I have the sun with me, I can definitely do anything.” 

“It's funny that you call me the sun. To me, you’re the really bright one. In fact, your smile glows so much that…” Seven suddenly squats down into your sight, and you jump. “It led me right to you~ Hahaha, can this even really be called hiding? Do I get a wish now?” 

You flush. “H-help me up!” He grips your hand and helps you climb out from under the table and stand up. But now you’re just super aware of how small the kitchen is. Seven’s standing really close, gah… “Wooow, you’re really red!” he says, grinning. “Do you like me that much?” 

You flush even darker. You’re probably like a tomato right now. “I, well, I mean—“ 

“Hahaha… Don’t look grumpy! I like you too.” _EVEN MORE BLUSHING, THANK YOU THAT IS NOT HELPING._ He leans a little closer, which also does nothing to help your state. “I like you so much...” he murmurs, the sound of which sends tingles shooting up and down your spine. “It makes me want to tease you and see how you react.” 

Your throat is super dry right now. 

“Your expression right now is so cute…” Seven says with a smile. “I'm so happy we can manage to play in such a small house.” 

You swallow. “It wasn’t really a fair game since the house is so small, but… I suppose I could give you a prize for finding me.” 

“Oh~?” Seven asks, and opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him down so you can give him a kiss on the cheek. Then you let him go, blushing bright crimson. You’ve thought about—and implied—so many things worse than a kiss on the cheek, but… 

“Oh,” Seven repeats weakly. “That’s a good prize. …But uh… there’s a problem now…” 

You glance up at him nervously. It’s hard to maintain eye contact. “A problem?” 

He looks up and away, blushing, rubbing the back of his neck. “You do realize you're pretty defenseless, right…? I'm not a guy who just works all the time without thinking about anything else... I'm really trying hard right now.” 

Your throat is even dryer than ever, you’re inventing new shades of red, and your body is heating up in a lot of places. You stare, wide-eyed and speechless. 

“Aheh… Um… Hahahaha! That was so funny. How was that joke?” Seven exclaims nervously, still only glancing at you and then looking immediately up towards the ceiling. 

“H-hilarious,” you say weakly. 

“Oh, um… There’s no need to worry. I'm super good at holding it in.” OH GOOD. SO GOOD FOR US BOTH. “In that sense, can't you, uh, pull down that skirt? I think it kind of crawled up when you were climbing out from under the table. ” You glance down… your skirt had kind of pulled up, but… You glance up at him shyly. 

“Wha??” you say loudly, as if you couldn’t hear him. “Something on my shirt?? Uh-oh!” You grab the hem and begin pulling it up, revealing your stomach. 

“Aaaaaah! Nonono!” Seven exclaims, grabbing your wrists and pulling the shirt back down. “Skirt! Your skirt! I said skirt!” 

“Oooooh, sorry. I misheard you.” 

“God, seriously… You’re wild…” Seven says, releasing your wrists. “Who just starts to pull up their shirt??” 

“I could have sworn you said shirt, but you said skirt… Haha, I’m so silly. Sorry about that~” 

“Well, if you understand, then pull down—“ 

“Pull down, got it!” you say cheerfully, gripping the waist of your skirt and pulling it just a few centimeters down. Seven ricochets away from you like you just pulled a gun on him. 

“I-I-I’m gonna go exercise! Gotta work out my body! Not just my brain!” 

“Eh?” you say, hands still on your waistband. “Seven, wait!” 

“You stay here! Hold down the fort!” He’s practically running to the door. 

“Seven!! Wait for me!!”

* * *

You can’t believe Seven seriously ran out the door! Hahaha… You’ve never had this kind of power before. You should probably use it responsibility. 

… 

Hahahahahaha. 

Yeah right! **You’re gonna torture him, for sure.**

But in the sun’s absence, the storm clouds come out to play. You start cooking dinner in a great mood, looking forward to Seven finally getting a chance to try something you’ve cooked. You can’t exactly go to the store. Well, you could, but if Seven comes back and you’re not here, he’ll have a heart attack, GPS or no. 

Despite your great mood starting, about halfway through, nerves start to sink in. You can distract yourself when you’re busy, but… This is pretty insane. The guy you like… is an ex-secret agent on the run from a shadowy evil organization with underworld ties… And you’re on a mission to rescue his evil, possibly brainwashed estranged twin brother, who hates him and—this can’t be emphasized enough—appears to want to kidnap you for mysterious purposes. Oh, and the evil twin brother is also the hacker who brought you to this organization in the first place. 

Oh God how are you going to get out of this alive? 

Seriously… You trust Seven. It can be very honestly said that you trust him with your life. But… can the two of you really get through this? What’s going to happen with Saeran? Just the thought of facing him again makes your blood freeze in your veins. You can’t imagine anything scarier… You’d even rather face your ex. 

And you’re just walking straight in… to try and _rescue_ him. What are you gonna do if it works?? Sit awkwardly in the car with him??? ‘Oh, yeah, you wanted to torture me a few days ago but hahaha, it’s all good!’ Is that kind of guy really safe…? But you can’t tell Seven any of this… 

The door opens, and you quickly try to bury the dark thoughts. “Honey~~~ Welcome home!” 

“Honey~~~ I’m home!” Seven calls right back, and you laugh, relaxing slightly as the light of day washes back over you. Everything will be fine. 

He walks back into the kitchen. You turn to look at him, and see him standing there with a goofy-ass grin on his face. “What?” you ask cautiously. “Did I spill something?” 

“No. Just… you in an apron, cooking dinner. …It’s not something I ever thought I’d get to see in my life. How did I get so lucky?” 

“The way I see it, you just saved up Suffering Points until you had enough to buy a cute girl in an apron.”

Seven laughs, and you feel a weight lifting off your shoulders. You just want to melt against his warmth. …How open would he be to the idea of cuddling…? Considering he can barely touch you without self-immolating… That might be too soon. 

As soon as you think that, though, he reaches out and cups your face, running a thumb across your cheek. You could probably self-immolate as well, to be honest; your face is certainly already on fire. “Do you know what your face looks like?” he says softly. Your best guess is: ‘a tomato.’ “It's like you have the word ‘WORRIED’ written in bold letters across your forehead.” 

…Oh… 

You glance down and to the side guiltily. You must be getting tired… or Seven is less distracted. You’d been fooling him just fine for days. 

He cups your face with his other hand as way, bringing your gaze back to his. “I know you're trying to hide it but I can sense it... So let's talk. Let's talk about what makes you nervous, how we can get through this... and just everything.” 

You can feel your lower lip trembling as Seven gently chips away at your walls. How are you supposed to be anything but honest when he looks at you like that…? 

“It’s okay, Yu. You can talk to me,” he promises, and you shove forward, pushing past his hands to throw yourself against his chest. You wrap your arms around him, and he does the same, holding you until you stop shaking. 

“I’m sorry…” you mutter after you pull yourself together a little bit. You didn’t trust your voice any sooner, because if you’d tried to say anything, you probably would have cried. 

“No, I am,” Seven says, still holding you tight against his chest, his chin tucked against your head. “I don't know how I ended up involving you in all this... I should be going through this alone...” 

“No way,” you say, voice muffled against his chest. “Struggles become less difficult when you share them.” 

“...But I don't want to make you struggle. I want to make sure that you're smiling all the time.” 

“As long as you're here, I'll smile every day,” you promise. “But if anything takes your light away, I'll never smile again... so you have to be safe.” 

“Is that what you’re worried about?” Seven asks. “That something will happen to me?” 

You nod shakily, because it’s all you can really manage. You’re worried about more than that, but… that’s the main thing, the core of it. “We’re up against a lot… I’m sure I don’t know all of the details. You haven’t said much about the agency, but I doubt they’re the types to just let you go peacefully… and I don’t even know about how you left.” 

“It was… about the only way you leave an organization like that,” Seven said, sounding slightly pained. 

“…Yeah, that was kind of my guess.” 

You can feel Seven shaking his head. “I still don't know how you can like me when I'm so dangerous...” 

“It’s pretty easy,” you quip. “First, I look at your face. Second, you mutter cutely to yourself about some complicated hacking thing I don’t really understand. Then, finally, one of us says something funny and we both laugh. Voila… the recipe for liking you.” 

“Aaah, God! You’re so cute!” He squeezes you a bit tighter and you let out a pleased little squeak. “I didn't want to involve someone I love in something so dangerous… Do you think... it's possible? Can we really overcome all obstacles and smile in the end? And one day... have a happy family...?” 

Your heart skips a beat… or maybe three. Living with Seven is going to definitely give you an irregular heartbeat… 

“I never thought I deserved it. I thought this tragedy should end with me...” he says. “But ever since meeting you... I started to hope... can I dare to hope?” 

You pull away enough to look up in his eyes. “Absolutely. I want to be the thing that gives you hope again. I’m right here… We can make a family.” 

And then it’s happening… He’s bending down towards you, and you’re pushing up on your tiptoes, and, and—

Your eyes slide closed as his lips meet yours. 

The kiss starts out timid, almost nervous, but then he seems to realize you’re not pulling away, and it deepens. He pushes against you harder, and you push right back. One of his hands stays against your back; the other one catches the back of your head, cradling you against his lips. He kisses you like you’re the only water in a desert. With **need**. Like you’re the air for his lungs… and you feel like he’s pulling the air from yours. You’re breathless when he finally pulls away. 

You don’t know what kind of expression you’re looking up at him with. You feel flushed all over; your eyes are half-lidded with dizziness or desire or both. But whatever it is, you doubt it’s anything near as attractive as the way he’s looking down at you, eyes full of wonder and love. He looks at you like you’re a miracle from God himself… and to him, maybe you are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seven: “...But I don't want to make you struggle. I want to make sure that you're smiling all the time.”  
> Me: are you sure seven? not even a little bit? because I have some evidence to the contrary re: your desire to see her struggling


	10. Day 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've arrived! We've finally arrived. It's so satisfying to be done with editing. Thanks so much for everyone who's been reading this, and anyone who is reading this in the future! This got so much more popular than I expected it to, and I'm honestly so flattered. Considering this was just a simple retelling done literally as I played through the game... and considering I'm primarily a Dragon Age writer... I didn't expect it to gain any traction! But it really has. For more on what your support means going forward, please check the notes at the end of the chapter. 
> 
> For now, enjoy the story! There is **a lot** of porn in this so please read in an appropriate place (whatever that means to you lol). This is where the light bondage tag that's been floating around haunting you comes into play.

It’s probably not a surprise that the two of you wind up on the bed after that. It might be more of a surprise—or disappointment—that you’re just cuddling. But it’s sure as hell not a disappointment to you. 

Seven’s body is warm. He’s so alive, and he makes _you_ feel so alive. It’s been a long time since you were like this with another person. 

You never want to let go. 

“Seven?” you murmur, shifting so that you can look up at him. “You’re still awake?” 

“Ah… I thought you’d fallen asleep.” He should work on that… It’s too easy to trick him into thinking you’re asleep. What if a bad person uses that trick? You’ll have to show him later, how to tell… “You can’t sleep?” 

“No… I’m thinking too many things.” Of course you are. You’re in bed with Seven. You’re about to go on a deadly journey together. You’re alternating between two entirely different kinds of heart-pounding anxiety. As if you could sleep... 

Seven must read the first kind of anxiety on your face right then, though, because he looks a bit amused and a bit embarrassed. “You know, I like spending the night with you... but I'm also worried. It's good to be together, but what if you can't sleep and feel tired tomorrow?” 

“I’d rest worse without you right here,” you promise him. “Having you right here, hearing you breathing… Helps let me think that everything will be fine.” 

Seven bends down enough to give you a quick peck on the forehead. “What am I going to do with you? I’m a really strong person, so I’ll be fine. I work out every day, you know? And you can already do some secret agent things, like driving cars really fast and throwing hackers over your shoulder.” 

You can’t help but laugh. “That’s gonna make family dinners fun. ‘Don’t make your mom angry, or she’ll throw you across the room! I ever tell you about how she nearly threw Uncle Saeran through a window one time?” 

Seven snorts, then laughs against your hair. “God... For the first moment in my life, I don't feel alone. Ever since I left Saeran, I thought hope, excitement, all these positive emotions were useless. But after meeting you, I realize that those emotions are still alive inside of me.” 

Your heart begins to thud painfully loud again. It’s amazing how two people can inspire the same thing in each other. Before Seven, you were only ever the kind of person who wears a bright and bubbly mask to hide the fact they only know darkness. And you think Seven was the same. But somehow, meeting each other made the masks turn real. You’re suns and mirrors, reflecting each other’s light, growing brighter each time. 

Even if it makes you blind, you’ll never regret this feeling. 

“You know… I lived in a huge house by myself and I had several cars... but I never truly owned anything. I was a secret agent, I was fake... I couldn't have anything... So I tried to fill up that emptiness with material things. Even while talking about getting a new car, I knew I'd have to get rid of it someday... But... I'm greedy now. For the first time, there's something I desperately want.” He murmurs the last bit against you. There’s not really a way to mistake what he means. You swallow, trying to un-lump your throat. 

“W-well, I hope I can get it for you,” you manage weakly. 

“You can,” he whispers right against your ear. “What I want is your everything.” 

You brain short circuits with a fizzle and a pop. There’s probably steam coming out of your ears. Your mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out. 

“Hahaha… You’re blushing so hard. How cute… I love how honest your expression is. I mean this, so even if you feel embarrassed, I won't take it back.” You stare up at him with wide eyes as he repeats words he’d said for the first time a few hours ago, in the kitchen, right after you’d kissed. “I love you. I love you so much that I want more of you even when you're with me...” 

Your brain has yet to recover, so you suppose it must be your heart that sends the signals to your body to push against him, wriggling against the bed until your mouth finds his again. This time, though, neither of you seem to want to pull away. The kiss of two touch-starved, love-starved people, straining against each other in a dance of lips and tongues. He tastes like too many processed drinks; even his kiss is sugary sweet. 

You hadn't realized it was possible for a kiss to deepen past tongues, but somehow, it has. You’re on top of him, and his hands are wandering down your back. Every part of your body that touches him is burning, and his hands trailing steadily downward are livewires against your skin. They pause at the small of your back, and you let out a frustrated little groan into the kiss. It should be illegal to tease like this—

But then they slide down that last bit, and his grip is around you, pulling you closer. You let out a little huff of surprise, but the shock is short-lived, because you’re pretty focused on the feeling of him stroking, squeezing… You’ve never felt you had much in the way of an ass, but Seven appears to be finding it fascinating. 

Your skirt is hiking ever-upwards, and you’re not sure what’s going to happen if it goes all the way up. Your body shifts, and you find yourself straddling right across his belt… Why had the two of you fallen into bed fully clothed? It’s uncomfortable for a split-second, and then Seven’s grip shifts you imperceptibly, and it _rubs_ at just the right angle. Your whole body twitches at the unexpected spark of pleasure. Unable to help yourself, you begin to slowly grind yourself back and forth across his belt buckle. You pull out of his kiss just to be able to let out a huff of breath; your whole body feels electric. 

Seven doesn’t take it as discouragement, however. His mouth finds a new home on your neck, where he begins to slowly make good on a promise from a while back. He first kisses, then licks, then sucks, then begins to nibble and bite along your neck. You’re not even trying to hold back your moans anymore as he catches on to what you’re doing with his belt and begins to help, grinding you against it with his hands on your ass. 

“S-Seven,” you groan. “O-oh my God… S-Seven…” You let out a yelp as his teeth close around the skin of your neck. 

“Too hard?” He pants the question out, pulling back. 

“ **Harder** ,” you demand, and pull his head back to your neck. 

And he’s more than happy to oblige, trailing nips and bites across every inch of available skin. You wish more was available; you can just imagine the feeling of his lips on your breasts—

You begin to grind against the edge of his belt buckle with a furious need, moaning wildly as your whole body starts to seize up. A rubber band looped over itself too many times finally snaps, and you come with a cry, back arching. Your whole body writhes against Seven’s as he keeps pushing you back and forth across the belt, like raking you over hot coals of pleasure. 

Then your whole body is oversensitive and exhausted, and you just sort of flop down against him. 

…Holy shit… 

Well. 

That just happened.

* * *

You’re flushed and panting even in the afterglow, cuddling against Seven and trying to comprehend what just happened. 

“A-are you okay?” he asks quietly, breathing quite heavily himself. 

“I’m… super-okay,” you breathe right back. “Mega-okay. Ultra-okay. They could take a sample from my body and put it on display at a museum of Pure, Distilled Okay-ness.” 

Seven laughs, and after a second, you join him, and the room fills with your giggles. You snuggle back up against him, but he shifts away, and you pause, concerned. 

“Seven?” 

“Er, ah, it’s just, uhm—“ he begins to stammer. “I need to um… go to the bathroom.” 

Ohhhhh. 

…Heheheheheh… 

“Alright,” you say, giving a naïve little pout. “But give me a kiss first!” 

Seven smiles, a warm, loving smile, and you almost feel bad for the trick you’re about to play on him. 

_Almost._

Not nearly enough to not do it. 

He leans over to you to give you a quick kiss, but as soon as your lips meet, you wrap your hands around his shoulders and YANK with all your unexpected might. His eyes fly open and he lets out a MRFFF! of protest into the kiss, but it’s too late. His body falls overtop of yours, and you get your leg situated quickly between his and give a liiiittle gentle not-so-gentle rub of your thigh, grinding the softness right along the hardened length you knew would be pressing against his jeans. 

Seven lets out a strangled groan and finally manages to pull his face away from yours. “Y-yu!” he protests. 

“If you still want to go to the bathroom, I’ll let you,” you say with a wide-eyed, mischievous smile. “But if you’re going to try and protect my innocence, don’t bother.” 

“Y-yu…” 

“Zen asked me this question… he asked what I’d be willing to do, if you wanted to. And I told him anything… as long as it’s mutual. I don’t know where your comfort zone is, Seven… and if it’s in the bathroom, that’s fine. But my comfort zone is still in the bed, if yours wants to join it here.” 

“I-I… I… I don’t want to take advantage…” 

“Pretty sure I’m the one who just took advantage of you,” you point out, and he flushes even darker. 

“You caught me off guard! It won’t happen again!” 

“I’m willing to bet that it absolutely will,” you say with a smirk. “But one surprise is enough for right now… You can still go if you want to… But if you don’t… I’d—“ You swallow hard, then force the words all out in a rush—you’re running out of bravado. “I’d like to touch you,” you say, very quickly. 

Seven is staring down at you with wide eyes. His pupils are dilated, making his gold eyes seem dark. You can see indecision wrestle across his face, then come to a conclusion. 

“O… okay. Just, um… I don’t want to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. I-if it’s just touching… but… Once we start... I’m worried I might do something more than just touching.” 

It’s your turn to be embarrassed. “O-o-oh. W, well, if you don’t want that, um, we could… Oh! I have an idea!” 

\--

“You’re really unexpectedly kinky, Yu,” Seven comments as you slide back to the bed, rope in hand. 

“Sh-shut up! It just occurred to me! I-if you’re worried you might lose control and do too much, we’ll just tie your hands together… right? Then you can just tell me what to do, or, um, what not to do, or if you want to stop…” His expression makes you stop, blushing furiously. “God, it’s stupid, isn’t it. I’m sorry…” 

“It’s not stupid,” he assures you quickly. “I’m just kind of amazed that this was the first conclusion you leapt to.” 

“You should know by now that my brain moves in unexpected patterns! I’m the knight in the chessboard of life!” you protest, still blushing bright red. 

Seven laughs. “Well, I’m game. Though maybe, instead of the rope…” 

You wind up using a cloth belt, which will probably be much more comfortable on the wrists than rope designed to be used with a grappling hook. You’re kind of amazed he can hold an erection through all your useless fumbling, as you tie his wrists together, firmly enough and with a secure enough knot that it’s not just decoration. Then you use the actual rope to secure that to one of the bedposts... voila. Seven is now officially unable to take advantage of you. 

You take a moment to sit back and look at the situation, however, and you realize that Seven is flushed and panting a bit already, his hands tied up above his head, on your BED, and you suddenly understand how he’s been able to keep aroused so easily. The reality--and the sheer hotness--of the situation hits you like a punch in the gut... or maybe a punch in the groin. He's _tied to your bed..._

Well, he’ll tell you if you do anything he doesn’t want you too, so… 

You start with a slow, lingering kiss. When he tries to press in against it, you pull back, teasing him to the end of his leash, so to speak. It’s unexpectedly fun. Meanwhile, you let your hands wander down his chest. You’ve honestly been wanting to cop a feel for a really long time now, and now you finally have the chance to really be able to take your time. 

You let your hands wander to the bottom of his shirt, then up it. Sweet merciful baby Jesus. He wasn’t joking about working out… He doesn't seem to have the body type for something like Zen's overly-sculpted abs, but his core is just a bit of softness over sheer solid muscle. You have to figure out how to convince him to be shirtless more. You let your hands trail further up, pulling his shirt up as you go. 

You break out of the kiss so you can admire with your eyes as well as your hands. You go ahead and shift between his legs, then pause to pull his shirt up even further, all the way above his chest. Eyes wide, you run your hands over him, in more than a little awe. 

“You’re seriously gorgeous,” you murmur, then bend over him to plant a trail of kisses from his chest down his stomach. As you get down below his belly button, your hands shift to his crotch. You run a curious hand along the bulge in his pants. Seven lets out a little groan. 

This is going to be a lot of fun. 

Slowly, you find the snap of his jeans, then the zipper. You don’t bother pulling them off of him… you just open up the front. He’s wearing briefs--or boxer briefs, it’s hard to tell seeing only the top and front. Either way, they’re containing him, but having clear difficulty with it. Do all bulges just look big when covered? You’re starting to get a little intimidated alongside your excitement. You grip it cautiously through the rough cloth of the briefs, and Seven’s whole body twitches. It FEELS big… 

Curiously, nervously, you open up the front slit of his underwear and maneuver his cock through. It’s more than happy to be free, and stands tall and proud. You stare down at it, eyes wide, suddenly glad you’d decided on impromptu bondage to ensure that Seven couldn’t throw you to the bed and have his way with you. You should have been doing kegels all week… it’s been years since you had anything ~down there~ and your last boyfriend was uh… less to handle. 

You look up at Seven’s expression, to make sure he’s still fine with the direction this is heading. The look in his eyes makes you think that the bondage was actually a fantastic idea. His eyes are dark and hungry, hands clenching and unclenching against the belt. You wonder, if he could, he would grab the back of your head and—

You give a pleased little shudder. Something to explore another day. For right now, you turn your focus back to his _very_ erect dick. Cautiously, you wrap your hand around it. You hadn’t thought much of it when Seven commented on how small your hands were, but now you sort of see his point. He inhales sharply, and you give a slow jerking motion, running your hand from the base of his shaft, all the way to the top, and then back down again. Too slow, apparently. His hips thrust upwards against your hand. You grip a little tighter and do it a few more times, catching a rhythm with his little thrusts. 

Oh… but this is dry. He’s gonna chafe at this rate. You could just spit on your hand, but… 

You can think of a more fun way to transfer saliva. 

You shift further down, lock your eyes with Seven’s as you lower yourself between his legs. He looks half-desperate as you bring yourself slowly downwards. Then, not breaking eye contact, you run your tongue along the bottom of his cock, from base all the way up to the head. His eyes slide shut and he lets out a groan. 

You repeat the motion a few times, getting his dick as wet as you can with just your tongue. It tastes like any other bit of skin, but the eroticism of the act makes it seem a hundred times better to you. Once his length is wet enough for you to be satisfied, you wrap your hand around it. This time it slicks smoothly along as you begin to stroke him up and down. 

“Y-yu,” he moans, and your whole body shudders. You watch his expression as you pick up speed, damp slicking noises filling the room. His arms strain against the rope holding him to the bedpost. “A-ah… Yu…” 

You can’t resist anymore. You shift your hand a bit further down his shaft, angle his cock towards you and… wrap your lips around it, just the head. He cries out loudly and unexpectedly thrusts, shoving his cock dramatically into your mouth. You let out a shocked, muffled yelp. Only your fist still wrapped around his length keeps it from just shoving the whole way in and choking you. 

You use your hand to help manage how much of him can get into your mouth at a time as his hips piston up into you, and focus on sucking and running your tongue around his cock. God… this is incredible. 

He definitely seems to have similar thoughts, his groans getting louder, his thrusts getting more erratic. You try to maintain a bit more control, gripping his hips with your one free hand and working the shaft more with your other one, bobbing your head and sucking. 

“Y-Yu! Yu, I’m gonna—“ 

You pull your head off him with a pop, about to ask him how he wants to come, but he beats you to the punch. He lets out a loud cry, and comes, shooting right up onto your face. You jerk backwards, startled, and the rest of his load fires into the air, soaking your hand, his length, and a bit of his stomach. You stare up at him in a bit of shock, face feeling alarmingly sticky. 

“I-I’m sorry!” he exclaims. “I didn’t mean to… Um… That’s…” He’s flushed bright red. “Actually, I’m not really sorry. That’s a good look on you.” 

“Shocked and cover in come?” you ask, eyes wide, trying to figure out the safest thing to wipe your face--and hand, and part of your forearm--on. 

“Exactly,” Seven agrees.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, both you and Seven fall asleep in each other’s arms after sharing a, uh, interestingly accessorized intimate moment. It’s short-lived, though… a nightmare wakes Seven up abruptly, which wakes you up abruptly. It’s like three in the morning, but you both go ahead and get up. There’s a lot of work to be done… neither of you really have time to be sleeping. 

Seven finishes up his work while you focus on packing all of your things and going over the most interesting of the documents yet again to make sure you haven’t missed anything that could be useful. Whoever Rika was, she was definitely intimately involved with this Mint Eye. The others are of the opinion that it was blackmail, or that there’s something missing, but… You’re fond of the simplest explanation being the most plausible one. You keep that observation to yourself, however, as well as a few other educated guesses. No point stirring the pot… you’ll know the truth soon enough. 

Seven has one more surprise for you before you leave, however… He fixed the robocat, which you immediately christen KITTI CAT (Kinetic Interactive Technology, Troubleshooting, and Information Companion Animal Toolkit). Because Meowy is a stupid name for a badass robocat. 

The two of you also share a particularly passionate kiss that probably would have rolled into something else were you both not preparing to walk into a death trap to save his evil twin brother. 

\--

You insist on doing part of the driving. There are two reasons for this. One, Seven promised you that you could drive his sports car, and this is probably the only chance you’ll ever get. Two, Seven has more useful things he can do while you handle the driving. Three, maybe he’ll rest a little bit. 

“I’m kind of surprised you know how to drive a stick shift,” Seven comments as you thoroughly enjoy yourself along the highway. 

“My mom’s truck was a stick; she taught me how to drive it when I was a kid… We lived out in the country, but I went to school in town. My dad worked there too, so he’d drive me to school instead of having me take the bus. And back home, there was a lot of space to learn to drive without having to worry about crashing into anyone or running into an officer.” You shift into fourth and smile. It’s been a long time since you drove stick, but you’ve still got it~ “I think I may have mentioned this before, but I actually raced cars in high school. The car that’s with Jumin… I’ve had her since I was sixteen. As soon as I hit high school, I got a part time job to start saving up.” You sigh. “I hope we don’t have to leave her behind forever.” 

Aaand into fifth. What a smooth car… “Really, though, I’m impressed with how you handle it,” Seven quips. “I didn’t think someone else could handle my babe so well~” 

“It’s all in the timing,” you say slyly, reaching out as if you’re going to rest your hand on the stick shift again, but “accidentally” reaching too far and landing in Seven’s crotch instead. He lets out a surprised yelp as you grip anyway. 

“Oops!” you say teasingly. “Wrong shaft~”

* * *

Seven drives the last bit himself. You’re up in the mountains on weird backroads, and it’s easier for him to just do the driving rather than give you directions. You try to keep him company, but you do wind up dozing off a bit. The car stopping wakes you up. 

“We’re here…” Seven murmurs. You’re parked some distance off, but you can see the building a bit between the trees. 

“I can’t believe there’s seriously a castle in the mountains… how the hell does no one know this is here?! Don’t satellite images pick it up?” 

“Given how skilled their hacker is, I’m sure they modify the information…” Seven says. “Or they have an official explanation, like the agency does. Before we approach, let’s go over the plan again.” 

He pulls out the blueprints, and you pour over the building layout one more time, trying to memorize every little detail. “I’m going to aim to get as much information as I can from this place. First, I’m going to disrupt the building security system for about five minutes. The green parts are the view parameters of the security cameras. The sections in red are alarm devices. As soon as the security system is down, we’ll enter along this blue route here and continue along this hallway… Our first goal is this circled part. I found that most of the data transfers were coming from this room. I don’t know what the inside is like, but it’s probably going to be the information room. I plan to go in there and hack into the computer myself. And about Saeran…” 

You swallow nervously. You know his plans regarding Saeran, and you haven’t spoken a word against them and never will. But you’re more than a little terrified. 

“I plan to find the safest way to find him once I analyze the information. But we might run into him… And if that happens… I’ll just have to pray to God that I can make everything work. Don’t leave my side by even an inch, alright?” 

“I won’t,” you say firmly. “Let’s do this, and safely go back home… all of us.” 

Seven smiles. “I know we can do this. I’ll be wide awake and alert, so just follow right behind me, alright?” 

“I’ll keep an eye on your six,” you say with a goofy grin. The chain of events that lead you here is seriously incomprehensible… But you’re about to break into a secret lair to hack a mainframe. You’re not super sure when it happened, but you think you’re kind of a secret agent too. 

You should write more on that spy story when this settles down, hahaha… 

\-- 

While Seven hacks into the security, you have a few whispered conversations with the RFA members. You try to inappropriately prank Zen by pretending to be a kidnapper, but you’re not good at faking your voice like Seven is, so he just laughs. And he makes you laugh too, which is a welcome feeling when things are this tense. 

You win the conversation, though. 

“How’s Seven doing?” 

“I feel like he keeps glancing at my neck… Maybe I shouldn’t have worn this kind of shirt…?” you say ponderously. 

“Whaaaaat?! That boy is glancing at your neck in this kind of situation?!” Zen explodes, sounding totally flummoxed. “They tell you late bloomers are like this! Slap some sense into him!” 

You burst out laughing, and Zen catches on. 

“God, seriously, you’re joking again aren’t you? You’re the boldest one in the RFA… I respect you. I really do. No wonder you went on this dangerous mission. …Have you seen the spy movies? 007? If you see that, the guy and girl always fall in love during one of their missions.” 

“A bit late for that, Zen.” 

“Uhm… that uh… that… huge… huge event that occurs between a man and woman normally happens before something important occurs. So be careful.” 

“Uuuuuuuuuh… Yyyes. Yes, I’ll be very careful.” 

“…Why are you sounding like that?” 

“Ah, I think it’s time to move! Bye Zen!”

* * *

Saeyoung. 

You’d heard him say the name once before, when he thought you were asleep, but you’d kept it off your lips until he told you willingly. 

Saeyoung, huh… 

It’s such a normal name, haha… Saeyoung and Yu. They could be a pretty happy, normal couple. You think he’ll always be Seven, a bit. First impressions die hard. You might be able to let Luciel and 707 go, but there will always be a bit of Seven in your heart. 

Of course, you might use even different names later. You should probably become comfortable with thinking of people, and maybe even yourself, with different names. 

Somehow, the two of you make it to the information room. There’s no doubt that’s what it is… The set up looks straight out of the movies. Who needs so many monitors?! Holy shit. 

Seven gets to work right away… or maybe you put him to work right away. He’s distracted... You can tell he’s struggling a bit, but that’s why you’re here. You can’t do his work for him, but you can keep an eye out and keep him focused. 

“First, plug this into there… Connect the cable attached to my laptop… there… password macro… RK184JP…” 

His muttering is a small comfort in a situation this tense. He only says about half of what he’s actually doing, but you can follow some of it anyway. A few years with him, and you’ll probably be able to hack some stuff yourself, hahaha… To be honest, though, you like the hardware side of things better. Cars and robots… things you can touch. Maybe you’ll leave the hacking to Seven. 

“We have to watch over the transfer process,” Seven informs you. “We have to do it so fast, so we’re going to use 100% of the power. The central system might get overheated…” 

“That’s okay,” a chillingly familiar voice comes from behind you. “I attached a nice cooler.” 

You do yourself proud by not shrieking, but you leap away, heart almost exploding out of your chest. You spin around, feet skidding along the ground. 

“…Saeran…” you say nervously. He’s not wearing a mask, but other than that, he looks the same as he did before—“What sort of games should we play?”—not NOW, not now! 

“Hello,” he says, a creepy little smile on his face. “Should I say… Nice to see you again?” 

Your whole body is tense. You want to run. You’d underestimated your fear entirely. Now that he’s in front of you, all you want to do is run. 100% of your effort is on just keeping your feet planted on the ground. You can barely even think; your entire mind is just screaming endlessly. _Get away, get away, we have to get away!_

“I expected this,” Saeran says, shaking his head slowly. “I knew you’d come here first if you came to Magenta. I’ve been seeing traces of an anonymous hacker in our system. I knew it was you. Ohh, but I had no idea you hacked into the satellite to see the exteriors. You found our blind spot and got it. I admit, you’re pretty good.” 

“S-Seven…” you say, voice shaking. “Sh-should we run…?” 

Please. 

_Please let me run._

“You’re very naïve,” Saeran says, turning his gaze to you. You really wish he wouldn’t… you feel sick. The fear is paralyzing. Where’s your strength? You have to find it… that place you go when things are bad. You need to find it and go there, disconnect from your fear… “It’s not that you’re not running. It’s that you can’t. Who knows? I might have installed a bomb here.” ... _YOU ARE SO TIRED OF BOMBS RIGHT NOW._

“I didn’t find anything like that when I looked into it,” Seven says. 

“If you can do it, I can do it too~” Saeran says, his voice sing-song. It’s anything but cute. “Don’t be so naïve. That’s that… But you came here before the ‘RFA party.’” He says those words really mockingly. “You were faster than I expected.” 

“I don’t know what to say…” Seven begins. “There are so many things I want to ask, to tell you.” 

“I suppose so.” 

“Saeran… We really need to talk. Can’t we look past all those emotions for now and talk?” 

“Talk? Talking… with someone who broke into another person’s home to steal information?” Saeran laughs. You remember the sound very well. “Stop treating me like an idiot,” he snaps, suddenly angry. “I’m sick of not doing anything and falling for your lies.” 

Meanwhile, you’ve found the place. Somehow, the snap of anger helped push you over into it. The terror is locked into the pit of your stomach. Things seem a bit distant, but you can control your body again. Perhaps there is a God, and all those things you went through were preparing you to be able to handle a situation this dangerous. 

“Saeran,” you say, voice strong enough that it surprises you—and both Seven and Saeran, by the looks of it. “Still, please listen. Nothing will change by you just listening.” 

“Why should I listen to you?” Saeran spits. 

You could give a few reasons... It just seems polite to listen to someone you once held hostage, right? 

“Saeran,” Seven interjects. “If you’re talking about our childhood… there’s a misunderstanding…” 

“Is that how you’re going to justify it, a misunderstanding?” Saeran scoffs. “That must take a lot of guts to say. You used your own brother to escape that hellish house… I guess you don’t want to admit that.” 

“No! I didn’t use you.” 

“Then how else would you put it?” Saeran says mockingly, tilting his head. 

“I left to help you. You’d understand if you would listen to my side of the story…” 

“’To **help** me…? Is that your excuse now? I expected it, but you’re still not honest.” He turns his gaze back to you. You meet it, somehow. “Yu… Smart little Yu. You should be careful too. Did he tell you that he’d protect you? Make you happy? That you’d live together, safe and secure? As someone who’s been there before… don’t trust him. He’ll abandon you too one day.” 

“Saeran… There’s been a misunderstanding. Someone’s told you something untrue. Please, just listen to what Seven has to say…” you beg. You have no reason to think it’ll work, but you look deep into those sickly green eyes and you plead. Even if he terrifies you… You want this to work. For Seven. 

But Saeran just laughs. “Woooow. You totally brainwashed that woman.” 

“No!” Seven snaps. “Please… just please listen to me!” 

“If you’re going to spill out another lie, then no need. I know the truth now.” 

“Saeran. I did not tell you lies when we were little. I meant everything. I meant when I said I’d protect you, that I’d get us out of there together… I swear.” 

“You want me to believe that?” Saeran scoffs. 

“I didn’t change my name and become a secret agent to just abandon you and live a good life on my own… I believed that we had to part ways first and change our identities to escape our father’s eyes.” 

“Who thought of that insane idea?” You don’t disagree, though you already know the answer. One more person you’d like to have words with, if you survive this... 

“V did. And… V promised that he and Rika would take good care of you once I left…! I trusted his promise and left. It was so hard to leave you, Saeran…” 

“It wasn’t until he saw you with me,” what a delicate way to put that, haha… “That he realized that V didn’t keep his promise. Until then he thought you were safe and happy,” you interject. 

“That’s fairly convincing!” Saeran says, and you have a moment of hope before it’s dashed. “A lot of people would fall for that!” 

“I didn’t make this up! It’s the truth!” Seven exclaims. 

“But you’re not just any other liar… I have another believable story. Want to listen? This is how it started. A man who lived in a hellish home saw his weak brother and got the courage to escape one day. ‘Oh! I can use weak Saeran as bait and comfortably escape that monster of a mother! But I feel bad for him now. I’ll have to take good care of him… Since I feel like I’m living a better life when I see my weak brother. But one day, I’ll leave this hellish place, team up with V to create RFA, have parties, chat online, and have fun! Saeran is such a burden… Yeah! I’ll feel much better to just disappear without a word~!’” 

“That’s not true!” cries Seven. “How could you think that?! I left without a word… because I thought mom would find out if I told you beforehand…” 

“Oh, so that’s what you intended~ Once you find out how miserable I was with that woman alone after you left, you won’t be able to say that,” Saeran says darkly. 

“Saeran…” you say, bringing his angry eyes back to yours. “What really happened?” 

“What happened…” he says, considering you. “Yes.” He looks back to Seven. “At first, I looked or you… The sun came up and the morning came in that hell, but you weren’t there. I looked and looked. I was so worried. I worried that you might be dead, that our father got you! I cried for days. No matter how many times that woman strangled me, hit me, threatened me for being noisy, the naïve me cried for days missing you! Did he leave because he was sick of me? Was he mad at me? No, he’ll come back. He’s my brother… my brother… my brother!” 

“Saeran…” 

“I thought you were dead. But… once I found out that you were alive, the shock… haha… I don’t think it can be put into words.” 

“Saeran, I swear! I thought everyone would live once I left… They told me you’d be safe! If I knew that was happening, I would have…” 

“No need to write a novel,” Saeran scoffs. “Leave that to your new woman. You’ve never saved me. All you’ve done is pushed me into a deep dark hole of despair. If I hadn’t met my savior, I would have lived a miserable life with that woman and starved to death with shackles on my ankles.” 

“Your savior?” you ask sharply. Seven seems too distraught to focus, but that sounds important. 

“What the hell happened after I left?!” exclaims Seven. 

“You want to know so you can use me more? I’m not the little weak Saeran from before. You’ll never know how I felt as I hacked and traced you for years! You’ll never understand what I went through!” 

“I’m sorry…” 

“You’re apologizing now?” 

“I believed that V and Rika saved you… and that you were happy. But… I was an idiot to have believed that. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t protect you until the end!” 

“Don’t think you can apologize now!” Saeran shouts. “Nothing will change! You liar! Traitor!” 

Things are getting a bit violent… This isn’t going well at all. But you… hadn’t really expected it to…You might have to step in. 

“He had reason to believe you were alive and well!” you interject. “The disc…” 

“That’s right. I tried to find out how you were doing even after I became a secret agent. I wasn’t allowed to, but I was never going to be okay without knowing that you were happy and safe. So I asked Rika to show me proof of how you were doing! Please believe me. Everything I’m saying is the truth. The year I turned 20, Rika gave me a disc that we kept secret from the agency. On it were pictures of you and a letter she wrote. I believed all of it…” 

“Yeah right. None of that happened. You’re lying again,” Saeran scoffs. 

“Here…” Seven says, pulling out the floppy disc. “Look at what’s in this.” 

“No way that exists! I don’t believe it. Whatever’s on that, you just made it up. You’re trying to hurt me again. You’re a hacker. I know that you’re good at forging believable fake information!” 

Oh for… This is going nowhere! You snap the disc right out of Seven’s hand, startling both of them, then turn around. You are standing RIGHT next to his fucking computer, so you just squat down and stick it right in before either of them can react. 

“Hey! Don’t touch my computer!” Saeran snarls, and you can see him coming towards you out of the corner of your eye. You tense, but quickly hit “open all.” 

Pictures of a boy who looks just like Seven fill the screen. He’s smiling… happy. Healthy. The idea that the boy was Saeran, and he somehow turned into the crazy-eyed man in front of you… makes you feel ill. What had been done to him…? 

“This photo!” he exclaims, grabbing the screen. “How?!” 

“Do you remember when this photo was taken?” Seven asks. 

“No way… How did you get this photo?” 

“Look,” you say. “Here’s a letter that Rika wrote.” 

“This is a lie…” Saeran mutters. 

“It’s the truth, Saeran!” you exclaim. “Something horrible has happened, but it wasn’t Seven who was behind it!” 

“I don’t believe it…” he drops the screen and staggers backwards. “No… No…” 

“What in the world happened to you!?” cries Seven. “Please tell me!” 

“…I don’t want to believe you. You just stole the photo… and put in on the disc… The letter is fake…” 

“No,” Seven says firmly. “Rika gave it to me herself.” 

“Shut up!!” Saeran screams. “It’s all just a lie!! You made it up!” 

“Saeran, please,” you say, taking a nervous step towards him. “Calm down.” 

“Don’t come near me!” he screams at the top of his lungs, making you flinch backwards, your hands going up to protect yourself automatically. “If you come near me, or tell me any more lies… I’m going to kill both of you.” 

“Saeran—“ Seven begins. 

“Don’t say that name!!” 

He turns and bolts…not what you’d been expecting at all. You’re chasing after him automatically; you don’t even know why. The door slams shut behind him, nearly smashing into you. You reach for the knob, but… “Seven!! I think the door’s locked!”

* * *

You can’t really help Seven hack… the best way for you to help is by leaving him alone to focus. Which means you have some time to collect yourself in the corner. You hide behind the corner of the desk and let go of the tight control a little bit, just enough to let yourself shake. You’d like to puke, but you have to fight against it. That would catch Seven’s attention, and he absolutely cannot split his focus right now. He can’t know what’s going on with you. 

To distract yourself, you decide to give a much-needed update on the messenger. Not that anyone is happy to hear that you’re locked in. You have to type slowly; your hands are shaking violently. Thank God for autocorrect... Jumin’s not in there, though, and he’s the only backup you have, so you call him. 

“You must have called to ask for help. Should I send security guards?” he says immediately, the second he picks up. 

“No,” you say firmly. “Not right now. You’re still on standby.” 

Jumin pauses, then says, “…It’s very strange to have someone else give me orders.” 

“I should enjoy doing it while I can. You might want to hire me one day, and I won’t be able to boss you around anymore…” 

“Are you interested in working for me? Jaehee said you would probably be too busy with the RFA.” 

You can’t help chuckling. “Well, I’m not sure you can afford me~” 

“I assure you I can. The issue is whether or not you’re for sale, not whether or not I can afford you. Weren’t you the one shocked when I just gave you some change to buy food with? I’ve seen your car, so you can’t really pretend with me.” 

“Harsh! Totally harsh! This is why I give the orders, Jumin.” 

“Tell me if you need anything,” Jumin says seriously. “I'll send it to you when I send the guards.” 

“Honey Buddha Chips and Doctor Pepper,” you say automatically. “I seriously never got to try any. Can you believe that? I’m dating this jerk and I never got Honey Buddha Chips!” 

“All right. I will tell all the security guards carry some. We don't know which guard you'll come into contact with.” 

…You didn’t actually expect him to agree just like that. Seven bursts out laughing from where he sits by the door, hacking, and you grin. The two of you share a knowing glance. _Even in the worst of times… we’ll look at each other and just laugh._

“Should I get a helicopter ready?” Jumin frets. “Assistant Kang did tell me that would be overreacting...” 

“Assistant Killjoy nixed a **helicopter**? Maaan! I’m gonna have to have words with Jaehee next!” 

“Oh!” Jumin exclaims, then whispers furiously, “You don't think this call’s been tapped, do you?” 

“…Has anyone ever told you that you’re cute when you’re worried, Jumin?” you ask, somewhat awed. 

“No, never. Not one in my entire life.” 

“…In any case, no, Seven says the call is fine.” 

“Still, you can never be too careful when your safety is on the line… Yu. I will do anything if you two come back safe.” 

“…Anything?” 

“Uh-oh~” Seven says from the corner. 

“Let me be Elizabeth the Third’s designated sitter,” you say seriously. “That’s the job I want. I’ll send you my resume. I have pet sitting and walking experience from high school. I took care of my mother’s sickly cat for two years. She was the most difficult cat in the entire world. I have no allergies and I am very thorough.” 

“Hmm… As long as you come back safe… I will look into hiring you into a position that includes those duties. We will have to see how you and Elizabeth the 3rd get along. This is a serious offer, so I hope you value safety more than anything else.” 

“I’ll come back safe and we can discuss my nine-figure salary,” you say seriously. “If you have to hire me into an official position within the company, I would like to work under Assistant Kang. I’ve worked with her a lot for the party, so I know we work well together. The benefits would probably be better working for C&R, anyway...” 

“If I hire you as an assistant… Hmm. We’ll discuss it when you safely return. I don’t think we should talk longer right now. Give me a call if anything happens. …Good luck.”

* * *

You can’t believe how long it’s taking to get the door open… But since Seven is still working, you go ahead and call some of the others. You talk to Assistant Killjoy, excuse you, Jaehee, about what you talked to Jumin about. She has mixed feelings. 

“It might be fun to work with a friend… but it might also be difficult. If you worked under me as one of Jumin’s assistants, I would be your boss… It’s difficult to be friends with one’s boss.” 

“I’d be a special assistant. I intend to bargain strongly, so I might even wind up making more than you, Jaehee~” you tease. “Anyway, I told Jumin I want my duties to include being Elizabeth the 3rd's primary sitter.” 

Jaehee makes a strangled gasping noise. 

“Jaehee?! Are you alright??” 

“Oh, I’m fine. I was just imagining a world where that was the case. To never have to worry about c-fur again…” 

“I’ll make your dream come true~ I own a lot of lint rollers still from when I took care of my mom’s cat. She was sick and cried twenty four hours a day… I couldn’t even sleep in my own room by the end. I don’t think Elizabeth the 3rd will prove to be comparable to that monster…” 

“You are a very brave person.” 

“I would still be able to do my work. I could write whatever I wanted if I had a secure paycheck like that…” you let out a longing sigh. “I have a lot of ideas about it. I’m looking forward to us coming back safe so I can discuss this with Jumin.” 

“Won’t you have to call him Mr. Han?” 

“Mr. Han and I will discuss that when drawing up my contract~” 

You and Jaehee laugh, and chat for a little bit longer. Towards the end, she… she says… 

“I feel like I’ve found a sister, to be able to talk like this in such a dire situation.” 

…Sister. 

You’re an only child, so you don’t know what it is to have a sister… But… Hearing that kind of makes your heart pound. 

\-- 

The call with Yoosung is even more of an adventure, although in a very different way. 

“You know… I just couldn’t think to eat today because I got so worried about you two. You guys are out there risking your lives, and I’m here all cozy and warm… But Jumin told me not to skip meals so I just ate whatever I had in the fridge. Something must have been off… I feel really sick.” 

“Oooh, poor Yoosung!” 

“…I might keep getting sick and starve to death if you two don’t come home safe. Then it’ll be all your fault.” 

“Oh no! We can’t have that! Well… If you promise us that you’ll be a good boy, I think we’ll be able to return faster,” you say teasingly. 

“I will,” Yoosung says immediately and very seriously. “I will go to all of my classes, study at the library, and submit all of my papers. I’ll look into part time jobs and study for the TOEFL. So you absolutely have to come back!” 

“Wow! For all that, I definitely—“ You hear something clatter and freeze. “Shit. Seven, what was that?” 

“If there’s something happening, hang up!” Yoosung whispers loudly. “They can’t hear you on the phone!” 

“We’re locked in still, but…” 

“I’ll be waiting like a good boy~ Bye.” 

He hangs up, and good thing, because that gives you a funny little surge in your stomach. Or maybe a bit lower. Or higher? You’re getting weird feelings all over. There’s something very, very appealing about that mental image. Like a loyal puppy, waiting for you... Gaaah… Your face is turning a little red. Is this what Seven gets out of you? That feeling of someone small to come home to and protect is appealing. Like a pet, but different. It’s a really nice feeling… 

“You’re blushing,” Seven comments. “What did he say? Did he confess his love in a dramatic moment?” 

“N-no, nothing like that. I just uh… Huh. He’s kind of unexpectedly cute, isn’t he? I don’t think he recognizes his own skills yet...” 

“He seriously is!! Don’t you think he’s got potential?”

* * *

Once Seven breaks through the door, you have to move, **fast**. You need to get out of here and get some place safe, regroup, and figure out another strategy. You can’t just stay here… it’s dangerous. Although if you come across Saeran, you might just try to tie him up and throw him in the trunk. You’re scared of him, but you’re also frustrated with him. You know Seven’s never going to give up on him, ever, so you _have_ to figure something out. 

“Yu…! This way!” Seven whispers as the two of you finally exit the building. 

“I think we missed Saeran… Where the hell is he?” you hiss. 

“Seeing that he hasn’t told anyone that we broke in… he’s either in shock at what I told him, or he’s changed his feelings about me.” 

“It’s true, he didn’t alert anyone… But I’m a bit worried.” 

“Huh…?” Seven says, and you look up. “Tire marks…?” Sure enough, there are really dramatic skid marks, right in front of the building. 

“Someone drove off from here in a hurry… Who here has a car? Saeran?” 

“It might be… But we don’t have enough information to be able to go after it.” Seven sighs. “First, we have to get somewhere safe, so go get in the car.” The two of you scamper off into the trees where the car is hidden. Still there, thank God. 

“Luciel?” 

You spin around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice, automatically pulling Seven closer to you as Seven does the same to you. Pfff… what a pair you are. 

You don’t recognize the person standing in front of you… He has the oddest pale blue-green hair. It reminds you of the shade of eyeshadow you use, to be honest. He’s dressed plainly… Is he one of the Mint Eye people? 

“Luciel, thank God… it’s you.” 

“V?!” Seven exclaims. 

“That’s V?” You’ve never actually seen him… So that’s what he looks like. What’s with the sunglasses…? Oh, didn’t Seven say his eyes had been hurt? 

“Why are you here?” Seven demands. 

“Oh, that…” 

“What do you mean ‘oh that’?!” you exclaim. “How the hell did you find this place?! We didn’t tell anyone the address!” 

“You knew about this place, right?” Seven says darkly. “I’m not even surprised…” Well, good for him, but you’re fucking _floored._ “You’re with them, aren’t you?” 

“I know that you won’t believe anything I say…” V says, and you scoff. 

“I’m getting really sick of hearing stuff like that...” you grumble. 

“You won’t be able to accept it even if I tell you why I’m here.” 

“You would not BELIEVE the things I have been able to accept lately!” you snap, taking a step forward. “Try me! Explain this! Explain why you’re here! Explain why you told me to stay in that place with a bomb! Explain everything, please!” 

“Yu! Get in the car! This might be dangerous,” Seven orders. 

“You don’t have to put your guards up against me. I will never hurt you,” V says. 

“Apartment! With! A! Bomb!” you exclaim, taking another step towards him. Seven catches your wrist, no doubt to keep you from going any closer to V. He’s clearly trying to pull you back, but your feet are planted. 

“V, You want me to believe you’re harmless? Don’t be ridiculous... Yu, stay away from him. Don’t touch her. I won’t stay still if you lay even a finger on her.” 

“Luciel…” V trails off. 

“Who the hell are you?! Reveal yourself!” Seven shouts. “How the hell did you know what was in that drawer? Rika was the only one who could go into that apartment…! You’re the worst kind of fraud to life with such an innocent face.” 

“I’m sorry…” V says. “I can’t tell you right now.” 

“Oooooh my God if someone says that to me **one more time** I SWEAR—“ you hiss. 

“I’m so sorry, Yu. You were in danger because of me…” V murmurs. 

“Yes! I was! But I don’t care! I’m in danger because of everyone these days! I just want to know why! Why was I even brought here? What do you know about Saeran? Why did he bring me to the RFA?!” you shout. 

“Yu, step back, it could be dangerous!” Seven says, pulling back more firmly on your arm, enough that you stagger backwards away from V. “V… You’re not going to say anything about Saeran? You’re not going to tell me what the hell you did to him?! He didn’t even listen to me. He just said that I was lying… Why the hell does he think I’m a liar?! Did you brainwash my brother?! Why is he like that?!” 

V just looks like he’s in pain. 

“Tell me whatever excuse you have…” Seven hisses. “You’re Mint Eye’s leader, not the RFA’s? You’re just pretending that you were attacked by the person you love and going blind, so that no one can suspect you!?” 

“Attacked?” you ask, startled. “By Rika?” 

“You explain, V,” Seven says harshly. “Say something with that noble mouth you promised so many things with!” 

“S-Seven, calm down a bit…” you say—now Seven’s the one approaching V dangerously. Suddenly it’s more like you’re holding him back than vice-versa. 

“How can I be calm in this situation?” Seven exclaims. 

“V, just answer us! Say something!” you exclaim, still holding tightly to Seven’s arm. 

“I’m sorry… There’s nothing else I can say…” 

“You haven’t said anything in the first place! What ‘else’!” you snap. You’re not going to say it when Seven’s like this, but you’re seriously getting used to this bullshit. He sounds just like Seven a few days and an entire lifetime ago. 

“About Saeran… It’s just that I know how much you love him… So I didn’t want you to know,” V says, offering up one of the worst excuses in human history. 

“Don’t give me that excuse… I hate you,” Seven says darkly. 

“Luciel…” 

“What do you expect him to say… Nothing you’re saying makes any sense…” you mutter. 

“I will never forgive you.” Seven jerks forward; you hold onto him more tightly. “You’re the reason why Saeran is like that, and why I became a secret agent… That’s the truth.” 

“…Yes,” V admits. 

“You’re the one who made me and Saeran part ways.” 

“Saeyoung… just listen to this one thing.” 

“Don’t say my name,” Seven hisses. 

“You won’t believe me, but I think I should tell you one last thing. Please believe me… this is the truth.” 

“I’m listening,” you say, before Seven can say anything. 

“I think I saw Saeran here earlier.” 

“What?!” you and Seven exclaim in unison. 

“I can’t see very well so I wasn’t sure… but since you’re here… Saeran must have been the one dragged away.” 

“Dragged away?!” Seven exclaims. 

“…Since Seven’s here?!” you exclaim, picking up on something else entirely. “You bastard!!!” You drop Seven’s arm and start to charge forward yourself—it’s Seven’s turn to catch you, which he does, catching you around the waist and jerking you back towards him. “You bastard! Did you think it was Seven being dragged away?! Did you just watch, thinking it was Seven?!?” 

“That’s not important right now, Yu,” Seven says, dragging you back. The force of his grip--and how much you’re struggling--will probably leave a bruise when you’re cognizant enough to feel pain again. “V… I won’t forgive you if you’re lying.” 

“I swear,” V says. “But I couldn’t see it properly. I don’t know who took him…But they got in some car. A red one, really bright and noticeable. I think it had a silver lining?” 

“Silver lining?” Seven asks sharply, still not releasing you. “No way… those tire marks… I thought they looked like my car…!” 

You stop struggling craning your neck to look back at Seven. “Your car? Have you ever lent it to anyone?” 

“No… But I know one person who has access to them. Vanderwood. I’m sure she’s the one who took my car.” 

“Shit!” you swear. 

“V… If you’re lying about seeing Saeran… I’m really not going to let you go.”

“I swear,” V insists. “It’s the truth.” 

“Yu… I think Vanderwood mistook Saeran as me. She would never let Saeran just go…” 

“Fuck!” you swear. “How the hell does the agency operate?! I know she’s not your maid, but I thought she was just another agent!” 

“She is… but a different kind than me. I ran off without completing my job… I’m sure she received orders to find me and take me out.” 

_**“YOUR MAID IS AN ASSASSIN?!”**_

“Saeyoung, I’d like to help… but you probably won’t trust me,” V says. 

“How could we? You haven’t told us anything other than that you won’t tell us anything!” you snap. 

“Yu. Get in the car. We’re leaving.” 

“Seven—“ 

“Get in the car!” 

You fume a bit, but turn to open the car door. 

“V…” Seven says. “If Rika knew the real you… I get now why she messed up your eyes like that.” You pause, turning to listen. “If your eyes really are hurt, just become blind. I don’t want anyone to be fooled by those sincere looking eyes.” 

Jesus… You’d been ready to beat the guy ten ways to Sunday, but you feel like Seven had done much worse. Ouch. 

Seven turns and gives you a look, so you just get into the car… driver’s seat though. Somehow, you don’t think he needs to be driving right now.

* * *

You insist on driving the whole way despite Seven’s protests. He seems way too emotional to drive. It’s not that you’re not emotional, per se, but you seem to have more of a grip on yourself than Seven right now. You have a degree of separation from the whole thing that Seven lacks. 

He directs you to another place in the mountains… a weird abandoned cabin. The road to it is totally overgrown… it looks like a horror movie set. 

Seven gets the generator set up while you use a crowbar to pry the lock off the cabin door. You’re picking up a very interesting set of skills these days. The inside is dark, and you don’t see any lights. You pull a flashlight out of your backpack, flick it on, and have a look around. It’s definitely… a cabin. There’s a bed, and a couch and table… not quite a kitchen, but some sort of old wood stove. And a fireplace. The whole place is covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt. 

This is… pretty much _exactly_ what you imagined a spy’s secret mountain hideout would be. It’s kind of nice that the real world can work like this sometimes. 

You find a super classic old broom in the corner… like the kind that witches ride... and you can’t help but smile at it. You’ve never even seen one of these before. 

“My life is a never-ending adventure,” you say with a chuckle, and start sweeping the dust out of an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods, where you will be hiding with your ex-secret agent boyfriend while you plan how you’re going to save his evil twin brother slash nemesis from the evil shadow agency that’s kidnapped him. 

\--

Seven’s super busy, but you don’t mind. Time must be of the essence in this kind of situation. You let him focus on work while you make yourself useful with KITTI CAT. It became pretty obvious that the car was bugged, with how Vanderwood came straight to that secret place. That’s where you come in… You’re good with cars. Seven put a jammer on the car, which _should_ be scrambling the signal… but you want to find the tracker. And KITTI CAT, true to her name, is a great help. It’s like having a sentient flashlight with access to a private database of useful information. And also Google. 

There’s some really old firewood stacked out back. A lot of it’s rotten, but you dragged in some of the good pieces. Seven’s not letting you start a fire yet, but you’ll have to eventually. It’s late autumn and you’re in the mountains… You’ll seriously freeze. The bed doesn’t even have blankets on… Fortunately, you have sheets and a blanket you brought from the apartment, and there’s an emergency blanket in the first aid kit if things get really chilly. 

The problem is the windows. Light flickering out of them might alert someone to your presence if they happen by the cabin. Once you’re done with the car, which you’re currently underneath, looking for something suspicious that’s probably roughly the size of a bee, you intend to take your gross, oily clothes, and drape them over the windows to block some of the light. You brought enough that you should be able to shred most of it and cover all the windows. It’s not like you can’t just buy more clothes later. Easy come, easy go. You just have to make sure to always wear the hoodie with the tracker in it… for Seven’s peace of mind. 

“Are you still working on that?” comes Seven’s voice from nearby. “It’s dark out here… and cold. You should come inside. I have the electricity hooked up and everything.” 

“I’m fine. KITTI CAT is seriously the best cat ever. When the hell did you have time to install a hologram projector?! It’s like having my own R2D2.” 

“I’m state of the art, meow!” 

“I’m nervous having you out here! The jammer is working, so—“ 

“No. If something happens to the jammer, they’ll know exactly where we are. This is something I can do to help that isn’t dangerous, so let me. Did you get on the messenger and let everyone know what’s happening?” 

“Yeah. I told them about V…” 

You wince under the car, then slide out. “I should call Jumin when I get the chance… I can hold you, but he’s alone. V was his childhood friend… He must be devastated.” 

“I also function as a speakerphone, meow!” KITTI CAT announces from under the car. 

“Oh my Goooood, Seven, I love this cat!” 

\--

“Jumin? Can you hear me? I’m calling you from a cat.” 

“…What?” 

“Was that a what because you can’t hear me, or a what because you’re confused by what I said?” 

“The latter. Are you with Seven?” 

“Yeah, he’s inside. I’m outside working on the car. Turns out the robocat—her name is KITTI CAT, Elizabeth is gonna love her—can hook into my phone. So cool… I swear I’m gonna marry that man.” You pause, realizing what you said, then poke your head out from under the car. Good. Seven is inside, he didn’t hear. That would be the WORST proposal ever. 

“I kind of expected that, to be honest,” Jumin is saying. “I’m glad you called… I was waiting.” 

“I thought you might be… I’m sure you were worried, but we’re safe.” 

“You called because you’re more worried about us, right? It must be so much more difficult for you.” 

“I don’t know about that… I think it’s probably harder on everyone else right now. KITTI, scan.” 

“That’s an electronic board, meow! Fits the blueprints for the car, meow!” 

“Sorry that I’m working while I’m talking to you, Jumin,” you apologize. “Seven’s just getting antsy about me being out here, so I want to finish quickly. But I didn’t want to put off calling you… I honestly can’t imagine how much you must be hurting right now.” 

“…I can't understand what exactly happened there... I feel complicated,” he admits. “The puzzle pieces don't fit.” 

“I agree… but I think I may have the least insight of anyone here.” 

“You’re also the most objective one,” Jumin points out. “I’m trying, but V… V is someone close to my heart. It’s hard for even me to be objective at a time like this. So you may have the best chance of figuring it out.” 

“I don’t intend to rest until I do…” you say seriously. “Saeran and all these mysteries… Seven--Saeyoung--and I, we’ll solve them all. …Jumin, what was V like? I never really spoke to him…” 

“He was an emotional person. The V I knew was very pure and wise... When you spoke to him, you couldn’t help but feel like he was honest and true.” 

“A person like that can be dangerous… But to be honest, I felt that just talking to him in the messenger. What was his relationship with Seven? I saw something while I was there that I don’t think I can forgive if I don’t try to understand it…” 

“A dog never betrays its owner... but the owner frequently sells off the dog.” You stiffen, your wrench clanking against something probably-sensitive in the undercarriage of the car. “…That was an emotional response.”

“Was it accurate?” you ask icily. “Please be honest with me, Jumin.” 

“...I always thought Saeyoung was deeply indebted to V. He did everything V asked without question, no matter what it was.” 

“And Rika, too…” you muse to yourself. “He even installed that bomb in an **apartment building** at her behest… It’s probably not too much to call him their dog, although I don’t like it.” 

“The bomb as well… I'm just confused. There's no explanation for this.” 

“Mm, well… Rika’s dead, so that’s why she’s escaping any of the wrath. …Oh, I’m sorry,” you say with a wince. “That was really insensitive. I sincerely apologize... It’s been Rika I’ve been thinking about this whole time, since I was staying in her apartment, but I shouldn’t speak of her that way to you or Seven.” 

“I think V has... betrayed his love for his deceased lover and his friendship with all of us. I can't believe it.” 

You have serious doubts about his ‘deceased lover,’ but you really shouldn’t voice them right now. You should be comforting Jumin. 

“V… All those years we've known each other are being corrupted. I don't want to think that the V I knew was always wearing a mask... This is torture, damn it.” His voice is breaking. You’ve never heard Jumin like this… 

“Jumin… I’m sorry,” you say uselessly. “I promise you I’ll find the truth, so please… Please hang in there.” Ah… you see something in the car. But just a moment… 

“I will. God… I need wine.” 

“It feels terrible to see you hurting so much. Will wine help you cope with this? Please be careful not to overdo it.” 

“I don't expect it to make me feel better. I just... want to forget about this for a while.” You wish you could be with him as well as Seven right now… Yoosung probably isn’t doing much better, but Jumin… Jumin has to be doing the worst. He was the closest to V, other than Seven. “This wine... has a scribble on the label. What wine is this?” 

You twist your arm painfully, trying to reach up into the undercarriage to see the little glinting bit. It’s got a red light on it… 

“I remember,” Jumin is continuing. “Rika and V gave this to me as a birthday gift three years ago, and she wrote something on the label instead of giving me a card. Rika wrote, ‘Hope you find the love of your life soon.’ And V wrote... ‘To my true friend, Jumin...’ …I should drink a different one.” 

OUCH. Ow ow ow ow WHY WAS THAT PART HOT. You let out a subdued little hiss of pain. 

“…Yu? Are you alright.” 

“Fine!” you say through gritted teeth. “Just poked myself on something. I’m fine. Got it…” 

“I’m sure you’re busy… and tired, with everything that’s happened. Please, get some rest soon. And tell Luciel... I mean, Saeyoung I said hello.” 

“Alright, Jumin. Call me any time if you need someone to talk to. I mean this. I’m sorry I can’t be there to help right now.” 

“You’re with Saeyoung, where you should be. Goodbye.” 

The second the call disconnects… “KITTI! Scan!” 

“Scanning, meow… It’s a bug, meow! Icky bug, meow!” 

“YES! KITTI, go get Seven, right now!.”

* * *

You’re pretty elated to have found the tracker. You and Seven both agree to leave the jammer on just in case there’s more. He turns off the bug for now… but he doesn’t destroy it. It might come in handy later on. Fortunately, the burn on your hand is really minor, but he still scolds you for it. You don’t mind… It was definitely worth it… and it’s your left hand, anyway. 

You complete your goal of shredding the majority of your clothes to cover the windows. Your clothes aren’t super opaque, so it’s not PERFECT… but it allows Seven to be comfortable enough to let you light a fire, thank God. You didn’t want to tell him, but you’re fucking freezing. 

You huddle right next to it, taking off your shoes so you don’t have to worry about any unfortunate melting, then sticking your icy feet right next to the flames. Your clothes aren’t really designed for camping… But that’s your fault. You just never really put “practical usage in secret agent survival scenarios” high on your priority list when picking out cute pastels. 

Seven brings his laptop over, though he sits facing away from the fire, which allows you to cuddle up to him somewhat. Cuddling by the fire… it’s nice that you can have things like this, even when everything is so crazy. You wrap your blanket around your back, then spoon against his back, wrapping your arms—and the blanket—around his waist. 

“Are you okay here?” Seven asks, pausing in his work briefly to place his hand over yours. “I know it's not the best place. I chose it because it's quiet and people rarely come... but it doesn't suit someone bright like you.” 

“Actually, I kind of like it. It feels like we’re in a movie. …A horror movie, maybe, but still a movie. It’s cool.” 

Seven laughs. “Thanks for saying that. Sorry for keeping the fire so low…” 

“No, it’s fine. Sorry for wearing pastel pinks and blues instead of thick black funeral clothes that block light better,” you tease. You rub your nose up against his neck, making him squirm. 

“You’re freezing cold!” 

“You can warm me up later,” you say with a grin. “We’ll have to huddle together for warmth~ And there’s only one bed anyway~ Oh, but I shouldn’t distract you right now, right?” 

Seven groans. “You’re difficult… I want to care for you more, but this is such an emergency. I have no choice.” 

“It’s fine. Just finish what you’re working on~ Then you can express your feelings for me.” 

“Express my feelings huh? If I’m being really honest… You can't even imagine how much I love you now. As an extreme example... I could die for you.” 

Your body stiffens against him. Just the thought…! 

“And even if I die, I want my soul to remain here next to you... Without you, I would never have had hope... I'm not afraid to die for you... I'm only afraid of you forgetting me.” 

You reach forward and push the laptop gently off his lap. 

“Ah— I still need to—“ 

“Will it explode if you don’t touch it for three minutes?” 

“…No.” 

You let the blanket drop onto the floor, then slide around to Seven’s front, straddling his lap and firmly gripping his chin in your cold hands, forcing him to look right at you. With him sitting and you on your knees, you’re actually taller than him, so he’s looking up at you. 

“You’re an idiot. We’re both going to live, together, forever. We’re going to get old together and have a bunch of super troublesome redheaded grandbabies. We’re going to be one hundred and twelve, the oldest couple in Korea, and then we’re going to die at the exact same time while holding hands. I will **never**. Leave you alone.” 

Seven is staring up at you with wide eyes. When he finally speaks, he says “…Isn’t it odd to start with grandbabies when we’ve never even—“ And that’s about all he manages to get out before you let out a groan of frustration and just kiss him. 

When you pull back, you keep your forehead pressed to his. “I love you, Saeyoung. Don’t even think the ‘d’ in death. Nothing can live without the sun… so never ask me to do that.” 

Your hands are on his face, and his hands are on yours, cradling each other, rocking together there, just holding each other in the moment. 

“I love you,” he whispers. “Today, tomorrow... forever and ever... As difficult as it was for you when I kept pushing you away, I will give you that much, no, much more love. I will care for you and love you. I love you. I will love you forever.”

* * *

You do, eventually, let Seven finish his work… because it’s important. Life or death. Anything short of that and you would never have pried yourself off of his lap. But you stay close until he’s finished. And when he’s finally finished for the night, you close his laptop, and pick up where you left off. 

Everyone else is taking comfort where they can find it tonight. Zen and Yoosung are together… drinking heavily, judging by the calls you had with each of them. Jumin is probably waist deep in wine by now, too… You hope Elizabeth can bring him some comfort, but you kind of doubt it under the circumstances… wasn’t it V who gave him that cat? Even Jaehee, at home alone, is taking comfort in her hobbies and passions. 

And Seven… Saeyoung… he’s going to take comfort in you. 

The mattress on the bed surprisingly isn’t that bad, and with your sheets on it, you can kind of forget that it’s an old mystery mattress in an abandoned cabin. But honestly, you could have slept on frozen ground and still been comfortable with you were there with Seven. 

And you’re learning why you tied his hands up last night… those lil fuckers WANDER. 

Seven is over you this time, and his hands seem to want to explore every inch of you. First over your clothes, but he’s quickly frustrated by the bulky hoodie. 

“I’m torn… I want that jacket off… but I don’t want you to get cold. …Should I heat you up first?” Seven asks slyly. 

“You want to go back to the fire?” you ask, glancing over to it. It’s being kept kind of low, but it’s doing a decent job of warming the cabin up. 

“No, that’s too uncomfortable… Your back will get sore if you sleep in a place like that. There are more fun ways to warm up… and more fun ways to make you sore.” 

…Oh. 

…Ooooooohhhh. 

You figure it out about three seconds before Seven runs his hands up your thighs and—to your shock—right up under your skirt. 

“How’s this?” he asks, pressing his fingers right up against your panties—against YOU. You answer in the form of a strangled gasp. “Good?” he asks again, rubbing around in a circular motion. You nod weakly. His belt buckle has _nothing_ on this. He quickly finds all your little weak spots, watching your face carefully. His eyes on yours are so intense… you kind of want to close your eyes, and kind of don’t. It’s embarrassing, but… 

He hasn’t just discovered your clit, he’s in the process of colonizing it. He’s planted his flag; you’re ready to surrender it as his. Your hands clench the back of his shirt for lack of anything else to grab. 

“S-Seven…” 

“Here? How about this?” he murmurs, watching your face closely. The similarity to him muttering to himself as he hacks suddenly strikes you, and you let out a groan. Wow, that’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever found erotic, but the idea of it… You’ve always found his habit of talking to himself cute, and the way he talks to programs super endearing… But the idea of him murmuring to himself—and you—like that as he explores and discovers your body the same way he does a firewall has you arching against his hand. 

You shouldn’t be surprised at how dexterous he is—you watch him type a hundred words a minute every day on that laptop of his—but you’d never considered he might put that dexterity to _this_ use… Well… Maybe you’d considered it a _little..._

You writhe against his touch, harder, harder still, calling out his name in an ever-growing crescendo until your back arches clear off the bed, your hands leaving his back to clench into the sheets. You come like a dam bursting, sparks shooting off behind your eyes. Did it feel this good for him last night? If so you can understand why he looked at you with those eyes full of wonder and lust. You’re probably looking at him like that as your body collapses back down on the bed, trembling. 

“You look like you’re feeling pretty warm now,” Seven says cheerfully. You stare at him, uncomprehending, your mind still in a post-orgasmic haze. You catch up around the time he’s pulling your hoodie off over your head. And he’s right; you barely feel the chill right now. 

You expecting him to pull it all the way off, but instead, he pulls it over your head but, confusingly, leaves it around your wrists. You move to pull your arms out of it, but he stops you. 

“Turnabout’s fair play,” he says with a little smirk. “Let’s see… Ahh… yes, here we go.” He’s got your arms fairly tangled up in the hoodie right now. It would take you a little while to untangle them, but you don’t even try, seeing where he’s going with this and more than a little interested. He slides his belt off and ties your wrists together, his belt tight but not chafing thanks to its position over the hoodie. You’re now just as bound up as he was last night. 

It strikes you somewhat belatedly that this means he’s not finished despite the fact you _just_ came. 

“There,” he says, sounding very satisfied with himself. “I think I can take my time now.” 

He catches your lips in a kiss before you can really reply. You can’t tease him the way you did before when he was tied up—quite the opposite. But he doesn’t use your inability to move to tease you with this kiss… No, he uses it to push in deep. He buries one of his hands into your hair, gripping tight, and kisses you until you’re panting and gasping for breath by the time he pulls away. 

“I love that expression,” he says with a little smirk, running a thumb along your lower lip. “Flushed, bright red lips from kissing. You look dizzy… I’d like to see how much dizzier I can make you. I wonder how tired your eyes will get by the time I’m done?” He bends his head back down, this time kissing along your neck. They don’t stay kisses for long; he begins mixing in little bites and nibbles that have you gasping and writhing. Down your neck and onto your chest... 

“Let’s get rid of this now…” he says, hooking his fingers around the bottom of your tank top. You let out a surprised cry as he begins to pull it up. “Oh? Are you getting shy now?” he asks curiously. “You were excited enough to show me your stomach when we were playing hide and seek…” 

“I-it’s not that,” you stammer, blushing furiously. 

“Ohh? What is it then?” 

“I’m, um…” you clear your throat awkwardly. “I’m not wearing a bra right now.” 

Whatever Seven was expecting you to say, it was obviously not that. You can practically see his brain short circuit with a fizzle and a pop. You can’t even make eye contact; you’re sooo embarrassed. You should have worn nice underwear! But you were only thinking about practicality when you got dressed this morning… You’re seriously just wearing plain cotton panties and no bra at all. It’s not super necessary with breasts as underwhelming as yours. Evidence: Seven couldn’t even tell and you’re only wearing a cami and a tank top right now. 

Seven seems to reboot quickly, however, and if anything, he has an even more wicked expression on his face than before. “That’s not really discouraging to me, though~” he says playfully. “But I’ll let you pick… skirt or shirt first?” 

You’re so red that you’re probably glowing. “U-um…” 

“Pick quickly, or I’ll just take them both right now~” Seven teases. 

“S-skirt!” you exclaim. At least you’re wearing panties under that. You’re a bit nervous about Seven seeing your breasts, to be honest. They’re not a lot to look at. 

“Shirt it is!” he declares, his hands grabbing the hem of your tank. 

“I-I-I said skirt! Skirt!” you exclaim as he pulls it up, up, over your stomach, chest, until it’s just laying around your neck and the top of your chest. 

“Ooooh, I’m sorry~ I must have misheard you. I could have sworn you said shirt~” he says, and you realize belated he’s having his revenge for your little “skirt/shirt” game when you were playing hide and seek. Damn! He held a grudge… And now you’re totally exposed! H-he can see everything! 

And he certainly seems to be taking his time with it. His gaze drags along your body, and then his hands do, first along your sides, making you squirm, and then along your stomach. Up, up... He stops just short of your breasts, and then begins his trip downwards again, tracing light, ticklish touches across your stomach. Gaaah! You really are ticklish!! Once he reaches your waist, though, he just hooks his fingers around your waistband, and before you even realize what’s happening, he’s pulling your skirt off, too. 

Your stockings and your panties are your only friends now. You squirm under Seven’s gaze, blushing furiously. 

“I probably should have warned you that I’m a bit of a sadist, hmm?” Seven muses. “I really just want to tease you for as long as I want… You get really cute when I mess with you… It sets me off a little bit.” He bends down to give you a little peck on the lips. “Do you want me to stop?” 

You swallow, hard, cheeks burning. “…N-no,” you say quietly. 

The grin on Seven’s face confirms that he heard you, but still he tilts his head. “I couldn’t hear you… What did you say?” 

“N-no!” 

“No, what? Does that mean you want me to stop?” 

“N, no, please don’t stop!” you cry a bit too loud, closing your eyes tightly in your embarrassment. 

“Aaah, you’re so cute.” He twists your head to the side gently, and kiss your neck, then bites it a little harder than he had before, making you cry out… in more pleasure than pain, embarrassingly enough. “Alright~ I’ll make sure you have a lot of fun too.” 

Now he lets his hands finally trace over your breasts... around a few times before, finally, his fingers land on one of your nipples. First they tease, his touch paper light. He watches your face carefully as he touches a bit more forcefully, then a little harder, then _grips._ Your face must register nothing but pleasure, because then he twists, and you cry out again. 

His head falls to your other breast then. His tongue is just as good as his fingers, then better when he adds suction. And when he adds teeth… You’d say you’re in heaven, but you’re fairly sure heaven doesn’t have anything that feels as good as the things Seven’s doing to you tonight. 

He teases and taunts you, switching between your breasts. The combination of cold air and his saliva makes them even more sensitive, as do his constant twists and bites. By the time he pauses, your head is swimming. You’re not even sure you can make your eyes focus, and your whole body is screaming for contact with more than just your breasts. 

“What a cute expression,” Seven says, catching a finger under your chin and angling your face up. “Aww, you’re panting. I’m not even close to done, you know… I still haven’t even returned the favor.” Returned the… favor…? His hands slide down your body, then hook around the sides of your panties and before you know it, he’s pulling them down. Soon, all you have left is your stockings. You’d been pretty aware of it before, but now you’re hyperaware… You’re absolutely DRENCHED down there. Your panties had probably been completely soaked through. 

Seven pauses again, taking you in. For a moment, his mischievous expression fades to one of awe—near worship. 

“You’re so beautiful, Yu,” he murmurs. “I really am the luckiest man alive right now… I can’t believe I get to see you like this. I can’t believe this is real.” 

“It _better_ be real,” you whine. “If I wake up, I’m gonna be _pissed!_ ” 

He laughs, a beautiful, ringing bell. The sound of your absolute happiness. You want to hear that sound all the time, every single day. 

“Make sure you don’t pass out, then,” he says with a grin, and then—THEN… 

You don’t really know what you were expecting, but it definitely wasn’t what happens. He drops his head between your legs, hooking your legs over his shoulders. You’d maybe been expecting a finger—your ex-boyfriend had done that a lot. What you get, however, is a tongue. 

Your shriek of shock turns into a moan as his tongue catches your clit, flicking over it. H-holy shit! You hate to admit it, but your ex had never actually done this. Your descriptions of it in your writing always get very poetic, since you’d only really read about it. Your vocabulary is definitely being expanded right now, though. 

You’d already been really wound up from his endless torment of your breasts, but Seven seems to recognize that and teases you pretty brutally, even wrapping his arms around your waist to keep you from thrusting up against him the way your body automatically wants to. He drags it out, running his tongue seemingly everywhere but your clit, only to then suddenly flick his tongue across it, making you jump every time. 

Finally, he seems to be satisfied he’s played with you enough, and begins to focus his efforts onto your clit. He latches his lips around it and _sucks_ , flicking over it repeatedly with his tongue at the same time. So much for keeping a low profile—your cry to the heavens probably carries a lot further than the light from the fire. You scream—first his name and then just incomprehensible noises—as your whole body seems to burst from the pleasure. 

He pulls away a little, and you try to gather your scattered mind back into place. You’re panting heavily, but you don’t feel like you’re getting any air at all. When you gather the ability to focus your eyes and look down, Seven is resting his chin against your pelvis, watching you and smiling. 

“I did mention I was sadistic when I tease, right?” Seven asks. “Do you think you understand what that means yet?” 

“I-I’m getting a pretty good idea,” you gasp. 

“Hmm… I’m not sure yet… But I think you’ll figure it out pretty soon.” He flicks a finger across your over-sensitive clit, and your whole body jumps. He chuckles. “Definitely.” 

He seems to decide that forming a sentence means you’ve recovered enough, because he brings his head back down and flicks his tongue over your swollen clit again. You’re not sure if the noise that comes out of you is a moan or a screech. 

Instead of just using his tongue again, however, he gets his hand involved, pushing a finger carefully against your entrance. You gasp out as he pushes inside. It’s been awhile since you felt something you weren’t controlling in there! He begins working the finger in and out of you as he continues torturing you with his tongue. You’re bucking against him furiously without both of his hands on you to keep you still, but he doesn’t seem to mind terribly. He just keeps going no matter how much you cry out. You can’t say you mind… You’re getting past “over-stimulated” and into something else entirely, but it all feels so GOOD. 

He adds another finger, and you groan as he scissors his fingers a bit, stretching you out. He focuses on your pleasure, curling his fingers inside you, but you have a suspicion that stretching you out is a primary motivator here. Again, not that you mind. 

By the time you’re coming again, you’re not even screaming… more like whimpering, your throat going hoarse and raspy. Finally, finally, he pulls away. Your body twitches at the withdrawal. You stare down at him, gaze hazy and unfocused. 

“Beautiful…” he murmurs. “You’re totally stunning, Yu. I’m the one who gets to see you like this… I’m so happy. Yu… I love you. I love you so much it hurts. There are so many things I want to do together with you… big things and small things… important things and silly things. But right now…” He swallows. “I know you’re scared. I’m sorry things are so dangerous. Tonight might be our last night… or we might be able to spend the rest of our lives together. I don't know what the results will be... but if tonight is our last... I just want to do one thing.” 

He shifts over you, quick hands untying the belt around your wrists, pulling the hoodie off and rubbing life back into them. 

“Yu… Can I... be a bit selfish to you?” he asks nervously. “I want to leave on you evidence… that I existed. I… I want to hold you tight and love you all night so that you remember me forever. …Will you let me?” 

You practically tackle him, wrapping your arms around him. 

“As if I would ever say no, Saeyoung.” 

The kiss as hungry and desperate as his kisses have ever been… you’re just as desperate. Tonight, you want to feel everything he has. You are scared… so scared. The thought of losing the sun after finally feeling his warmth is the most terrifying thing you’ve ever experienced in your life. But tonight… right here, right now… he’s here. You never want to let him go. And tonight, you don’t have to. 

You try not to tense when you feel him lining himself up. You know he stretched you beforehand, but it’s been a long, long while, and he’s not exactly petite. You suck in a sharp breath as his head begins to penetrate you. You try to remember how you got through your first time… relaxing yourself. Seven moves extremely slowly, scattering kisses along your neck and chest as he works himself into you. 

His gentleness is a sharp contrast to how rough he was when he teased you earlier. He murmurs words of encouragement, asking you how you feel, are you okay, are you ready for him to move more? You respond with murmured encouragement of your own, until he pushes in a bit further and hits something… something **good.** You let out a long, loud moan. 

He thrusts gently, carefully, teasing out ever-louder groans out of you. You’re the one who winds up asking for more, faster, deeper. The first time he thrusts all the way into you at once, hips crashing against yours, your whole body feels like it might burst. Pleasure, happiness, love, and a little bit of pain. 

This feeling is incredible… and perfect. 

Just like him. 

He doesn’t quite love you all night long. It’s just as well… by the time his thrusts have picked up speed, become a little desperate and erratic, your body is exhausted. He worked you over thoroughly before he ever started, and you’re like puddy in his grip at this point. Your throat is hoarse from crying out, and your legs feel like overstretched rubber. You wrap yourself around him as he thrusts in a last few times. He calls your name when he comes, and you take in everything… the cadence of his voice, the flush on his cheeks, the ways his eyes clench shut. 

You hope you’ll see it a hundred thousand more times. 

But if you don’t, you will definitely, definitely never forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it, ladies and gentlemen! This is the end of what I wrote in 11 days through tears and energy drinks and multiple splinted fingers. Take a minute to really stop and admire that word count... God knows I am. 
> 
> Because this got so much more popularity and support than I was expecting, I feel like it wouldn't be a waste of time for me to continue writing MysMe stuff. For that reason, well, you may have noticed that the chapter count is now out of 13 rather than out of 10. That's because I'll be adding **one non-canon bad end** as well as non-canon compliant **retellings of the secret ending**. Fans of my other fan fiction will understand what a stickler I am for canon... almost to the point of it physically causing me pain to make things fit within canon lol. But this will diverge from canon. And after this work is finally complete, I have a handful of other MysMe works I'll be doing (slowly and inbetween other projects when I have time) including a Saeran story, a post-canon sequel to this story, and just, like, a lot of porn for all the characters. 
> 
> If you like my work and would like to support me, there's a bunch of links to various ways to follow/support me [here](http://elvensemi.tumblr.com/information). I'd like to specifically point out my Patreon for one reason only: members of my Patreon get to vote on what I'll be focusing my spare energy on each month. So far, MysMe has been in dead last every single time. If you join and vote for it, you'll be able to see more MysMe stuff, sooner. Just consider it~ Plus if there are more MysMe fans there, I might begin posting that sort of stuff there (un-finished drabbles, sneak peeks, etc). What I post is dependent upon what people want to see. 
> 
> Once more time, **thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you in the Bad End!** <3


End file.
